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Source: USA Today
Trevor Hughes
November 7, 2016
Voters in nine states will consider marijuana ballot questions, including whether or not marijuana should be legalized for recreational use.
Tuesday is marijuana’s big day, with voters in nine states deciding whether to relax cannabis restrictions for either medical or recreational use.
Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada are considering legalizing recreational marijuana. Voters in Arkansas, Florida, Montana and North Dakota are asking voters whether to permit medical use for certain conditions, like cancer or chronic pain. None of those votes will change the federal ban on marijuana use, although legalization advocates say it may further pressure Congress, the DEA and the FDA to act.
Here’s a quick guide to the measures, listed first by recreational and then by medical.
Recreational marijuana proposals
What would California’s marijuana law do?
The California plan, known as the Adult Use of Marijuana Act or Prop. 64, allows residents to grow up to six plants at home and gives municipalities the power to allow or ban outdoor grows and marijuana stores. It requires commercial growers to comply with environmental regulations – many illegal growers today ignore laws governing water, pesticide and fertilizer use – and gives existing medical-marijuana providers a head start in getting business licenses. The measure also maintains existing prohibitions on youth use and driving while high. Critics worry it will open up television advertising to marijuana companies and goes too far in permitting people previously convicted of violent drug offenses to join the industry. Medical marijuana is widely available in California.
What would Arizona’s marijuana law do?
Prop. 205 would legalize adult recreational marijuana use, cultivation and sales, with a 15% sales tax to fund new state regulation, enforcement and education efforts. Medical marijuana is legal already in Arizona, and the recreational plan backed by the group “Campaign to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol” expands use to adults 21 and older. The proposal would allow people to possess up to an ounce of marijuana and grow up to six plants, and creates a state-regulated system of commercial growers and retailers.
What would Maine’s marijuana law do?
The ballot measure expands the state’s well-regarded medical marijuana program to recreational use, but it also permits the creation of “marijuana social clubs,” where people would be able to consume marijuana. Critics worry that Question 1 might increase the amount of impaired driving, in the way that bars can lead to more drunken drivers on the road.
There’s also concern that the measure requires marijuana-focused publications to be sold from behind store counters, a proposal that was struck down as unconstitutional in Colorado. Gov. Paul LePage signed Maine’s medical marijuana law in 2011, but he opposes this recreational legalization effort. The plan lets adults possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana, along with growing up to six adult plants at a time, with exemptions for seedlings and smaller plants. Commercial sales would be taxed and regulated by the state.
What would the Massachusetts marijuana law do?
Question 4 allows adults to grow up to six plants, possess 10 ounces of marijuana at home, and posses up to an ounce in public, although public consumption remains illegal. Gov. Charlie Baker argues legalizing marijuana in the Bay State could increase youth use and distract regulators and public health officials wrestling with an epidemic of opioid abuse and overdoses. If approved, the measure creates a new Cannabis Control Commission, which would oversee regulations and taxing of commercial sales.
What would Nevada’s marijuana law do?
Question 2 permits the personal possession of one ounce or less of marijuana or one-eighth of an ounce or less of concentrated marijuana for individuals 21 years of age or older. Adults 21 and older could grow up to six plants for personal use if they live more than 25 miles away from a commercial marijuana store, but otherwise would be required to buy taxed and regulated cannabis. Nevada’s program would be open to anyone visiting the state, and supporters say the tourist-heavy market could be worth $390 million, with up to $1.1 billion in economic impact. Medical dispensaries would be granted an 18-month monopoly on recreational sales, and alcohol distributors would also have an 18-month monopoly on distribution.
Medical marijuana proposals
What would Arkansas’ marijuana law do?
The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment of 2016 legalizes medical use for certain specified conditions, including cancer, glaucoma and fibromyalgia, and requires a doctor’s recommendation. The law permits at least 20 and up to 40 medical marijuana dispensaries, although cities and towns could ban them if they want. Taxes paid by buyers would fund regulation of the medical marijuana industry, and home-growing would remain illegal – all marijuana would have to be grown at a state-licensed cultivation facility.
What would Florida’s marijuana law do?
Amendment 2 permits the use of medical cannabis for specific conditions, including cancer, HIV/AIDS, and multiple sclerosis. A similar measure won a majority of support from voters in 2014, but Florida requires a “supermajority” to pass proposals like this. This proposal can only pass if it gets 60% or more support from voters, and creates a system of medical marijuana cultivation centers and caregivers, and use requires a doctor’s recommendation.
What would Montana’s marijuana law do?
Montana’s voters approved medical marijuana in 2004, but the state legislature changed the law to significantly curtail it. The new plan, Initiative 182, allows doctors to recommend marijuana use for specific conditions, including chronic pain or PTSD. Also known as the Montana Medical Marijuana Act, the plan permits the creation of medical marijuana cultivation facilities and bans law enforcement from conducting surprise inspections of them.
What would North Dakota’s marijuana law do?
Initiated Statutory Measure 5 permits the use of medical marijuana for specific conditions including cancer, HIV/AIDS and glaucoma, and would be overseen by state health regulators. People living more than 40 miles from a state-registered medical marijuana cultivation facility would be permitted to grow their own, and patients could have up to three ounces at a time.