What states have legal weed? Will Congress OK it? The latest on federal marijuana legalization
But what's going on with the rest of the country?
But what's going on with the rest of the country?
More than 40 percent of Americans now live in states — 18 in total — that have embraced full legalization. Roughly two-thirds of American back legal weed, according to polls.
The acceptance of legal weed by governors and state lawmakers in 2021 — without the explicit blessing of voters — marks a turning point. Until this year, only two states had legalized recreational marijuana programs through the legislature: Illinois in 2019 and Vermont in 2020.
Adult-use marijuana legalization in Maryland must wait at least a year after bills failed to meet Monday’s “crossover” deadline for passing one legislative chamber and being sent to the other.
“Sponsors (now) are working on amendments to set the stage for legalization in ’22,” Karen O’Keefe, Marijuana Policy Project’s director of state policies, wrote in an email to Marijuana Business Daily.
Experts polled shortly after the November election had considered Maryland as one of the states most likely to approve a recreational marijuana market in 2021.
Voters approved a slew of marijuana legalization initiatives during November’s election—in states around the country and across the political spectrum—but activists aren’t slowing down. They expect that 2021 will see another surge of reform in state legislatures.
In the wake of growing unrest over racial injustice, several states have taken steps that may give legalization proponents reason to be optimistic. For example, Georgia lawmakers included decriminalizing marijuana in a recent police reform bill. In New Jersey, a decriminalization bill passed the state Assembly by a 63-10 vote. Taking everything into account, Karen O’Keefe, the director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project, believes we will see a record number of states legalize marijuana next year.
The unanimous vote of the Regulation Review Committee sends the regulations to Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, where they immediately become law more than eight months after a panel of physicians recommended two new pain-related ailments to three dozen others.
The vote brings the total number of afflictions for adults to 38, while there are 10 for those under the age of 18. Many of the conditions on the list already include pain, but not generalized pain without a specified cause.
Here are three factors to keep in mind as states address either recreational or medical legalization this year:
If voters approve the legal weed ballot question, New Jersey would be the 12th state to legalize recreational weed and — as of now — the first in the Mid-Atlantic region. If it fails, the Legislature won't be able to consider the issue for three years.
Advocates of legalizing marijuana for recreational purposes scored their most significant legislative victory of the year Friday when the Illinois state House gave final approval to a measure allowing residents over the age of 21 to purchase and use cannabis products.
But their win in Springfield comes at the end of a string of defeats in what was supposed to be a banner year for legalization. Even supporters of recreational use acknowledge their legislative agenda has run into more roadblocks than they expected.
The new year marks the start of the 116th Congress, as well as the launch of numerous state legislative sessions.As lawmakers return to work at the state and federal levels, elected officials and advocates for social justice and marijuana reform alike are plotting their cannabis legislation goals.
WeedMaps News contacted some of the leading legislative changemakers to ask what's on their agenda for 2019.
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