The Green Thread: Marijuana in the states

[Storr]

Still shocked that legal weed failed in North Dakota.

Yeah, especially by the margin.  Heitkamp lost by 11 and weed failed by 18.

Two years ago, medical cannabis was approved 64-36.

I mean, it is North Dakota after all. No state anywhere near as conservative as North Dakota has approved recreational weed.

[Storr]

So what are the chances that Illinois legalizes marijuana? Apparently it is part of JB's agenda. And I don't mean half-legalization like Vermont, but full legalization with a market that provides tax revenue? This seems like a no-brainer for IL, but lawmakers in most states so far haven't seemed to accept that there is little-to-no political risk anymore and that legalization is basically inevitable.

Same goes with Virginia, Minnesota, Connecticut or Pennsylvania. All are liberal to liberal leaning states.

[Storr]

So is anywhere going to have ballot referenda on weed in 2020?

Seems about time for Ohio to take another crack at this, right? I think enough time has passed that it could pass there.

According to Ballotpedia: Arizona, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Dakota, and South Dakota all have citizen initiatives in circulation for Marijuana Legalization....

How many if any of them will qualify and survive the court review process is another question, let alone if it would pass in any of these states (Other than NJ)....

It's been awhile since, I looked at the ballot thresholds to qualify for an initiative by State, but this is a good place to start, and I believe will likely update once signatures start to get collected and numbers updated, based upon state initiative law.

https://ballotpedia.org/Category:Marijuana,_2020

Of the ones that aren't New Jersey, I'd say Arizona and then maybe Missouri would have the best chances of actually passing.