The American voters of the states of Maryland and Missouri approved yesterday Tuesday November 8 a proposal of vote which from now on legalizes the adult use of Cannabis. At the same time voters in Arkansas, North and South Dakota are rejecting similar proposals.
Texas is also taking a leap forward by legalizing a few counties, while Colorado will decriminalize the use of certain psychedelic products, as Oregon did previously.
The practice of democracy is on The Cannabist.
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In all, 6 states have just voted on measures related to the regulation of substances, 5 of them concerned Cannabis. In Colorado the proposal concerned the downgrading of certain psychedelic products.
Until yesterday, Cannabis was legal in California, New York, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Virginia, Washington, Arizona, Massachusetts, Colorado, Oregon, Connecticut, Nevada, New Mexico, Maine, Rhode Island, Montana, Alaska and Vermont.
States to which are now added Maryland and Missouri with respectively 65.53% and 53.99% of votes in favor of legalization initiatives.
Minutes following @LegalMo22 declared Amendment 3 a win, legalizing recreational marijuana for those 21 and older, the room instantly lit up. #moleg #ElectionDay #Election2022 pic.twitter.com/X9iyKiNqLK
— Emily Manley (@EmilyManleyTV) November 9, 2022
Mention should be made in passing of the counties of Denton, Elgin, Harker Heights, Killeen, and San Marcos in Texas where legalization and decriminalization measures have also been approved. A feeling of freedom that made the headlines of the press this morning.
Show me a YES! ✅️ Amendment 3 PASSES in Missouri, making it the 21st state to legalize recreational cannabis for adults 21+. | Details: https://t.co/qBXwiTmfGd pic.twitter.com/ElMim7UEQw
— High Times (@HIGH_TIMES_Mag) November 9, 2022
A majority of states are now in favor of the adult use of Cannabis in the USA. Gallup polls in 2020 and 2021 found that 68% of people polled supported legalization.
That’s an increase of regarding a 30% swing in favor of legalization when the pollster brought up the topic in 2000.
A Democrat/Republican opposition which, moreover, tends to fade away. In any case if we believe a survey by Morning Consult for Politico published last month. We learn that today more Republicans would be in favor of complete national legalization with 47% of favorable opinions, while those who still oppose it only represent 41% of the opinions expressed.
Joe Biden’s latest announcements complete the message of laissez-faire at the federal level, while waiting for a banking law that has been in preparation for months to finally support federal legalization.
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In the USA, a total of 21 states will have legalized weed by the end of the year. The so-called ‘MidTerm’ elections have just been held. Like the majority of Joe Biden, legalization comes up once morest the conservative fringe of voters.
While the states where this process produces virtuous effects, one still senses a certain reluctance in public opinion. These are doubtless resistances which should disappear as roads are rebuilt and schools are opened with money from Cannabis taxes in neighboring states.
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Seen from the country of Voltaire, the practice of democracy is also the courage to submit to the vote of the people the choices of societies, cultural and social choices. How did we end up with a system where almost one guy decides everything for 5 years?
Because it is a safe bet that if we submitted to the popular vote the controlled legalization of Cannabis in France that today we would probably have a different result from that of the Assembly or Senate.
