MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION 2018 MIDTERMS: WHICH STATES WILL ALLOW LEGAL WEED NEXT?

BY ALEXANDRA HUTZLER ON 11/5/18 AT 10:51 AM

As voters countrywide head to the polls on Tuesday for the heated midterm elections, a handful of states will also be deciding whether to pass marijuana legislation that would legalize the drug for medicinal or recreational use.

Michigan, Missouri, North Dakota and Utah may soon join 30 other states in the U.S. to adopt some form of legalized weed through ballot reform measures. Polls suggest that all four ballot initiatives are likely to pass, which would mean that one in four Americans will have access to legal weed.

The ballot initiatives follow on the heels of Canada’s full-fledged legalization of cannabis in mid-October. The U.S.'s northern neighbor became the second and largest country in the world to have a national marijuana marketplace. Canada’s framework for taxing and regulating marijuana distribution could potentially serve as a model for the U.S. if the federal government were to decriminalize the drug.

Here’s where marijuana policy reform is on the ballot this week.

Michigan

Michigan could join nine other states in legalizing the recreational use of marijuana if voters choose to pass Proposal 1. The proposal would allow the personal possession and use of cannabis for state residents who are 21 years of age or older. It would also convert current criminal marijuana-related charges to civil infractions.

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