Voters in three states—and a potential fourth—approved recreational marijuana initiatives, and several other states passed medical marijuana provisions
By NACS Online
Trump may have won the White House, but voters who support legalizing marijuana proved to be big winners as well, reports The Washington Post.
The news source writes that voters in California, Massachusetts and Nevada approved recreational marijuana initiatives, “in what is turning out to be the biggest electoral victory for marijuana reform since 2012, when Colorado and Washington [state] first approved the drug’s recreational use.” As of this morning in Maine, the “yes” vote leads by less than 1 point with 98% of precincts reporting.
In Arizona, 52% of voters just said no to passing a measure that would have legalized marijuana in the state. In terms of medical use, voters in Florida, North Dakota and Arkansas approved medical marijuana initiatives, reports the Post, while voters in Montana rolled back restrictions on an existing medical cannabis law.
While weed enthusiasts rejoice, a new administration is sending up smoke signals for cannabis supporters. The Post notes that a Trump White House “leaves a lot of uncertainty about the fate of marijuana measures in the next four years,” following up on an Obama administration that had been hands-off regarding state-level efforts to legalize marijuana.
“The prospect of Rudy Giuliani or Chris Christie as attorney general does not bode well,” Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, told the news source. “There are various ways in which a hostile White House could trip things up.”
