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Mixed results on ballot initiatives to legalize marijuana


A worker trims the flower of a cannabis plant as it is prepared for packaging at a marijuana farm operated by Greenlight, Monday, Oct. 31, 2022, in Grandview, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
A worker trims the flower of a cannabis plant as it is prepared for packaging at a marijuana farm operated by Greenlight, Monday, Oct. 31, 2022, in Grandview, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
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Maryland and Missouri voted to legalize marijuana for recreational use in Tuesday’s midterm elections, expanding the number of states it has been legalized in despite a federal ban.

Ahead of Election Day, 19 states had already legalized marijuana for recreational use and 31 states and the District of Columbia had decriminalized it.

Maryland voters overwhelmingly approved of legalizing the recreational use for adults aged 21 and older, making it the 20th state to legalize it. It will be available for commercial sale starting Nov. 1.

Voters in Missouri also approved a ballot measure legalizing marijuana for recreational use for adults 21 and older. Past arrests and convictions for nonviolent marijuana offenses will also be expunged from records except in the cases of selling to minors or driving under the influence.

Maryland was the only state with a ballot initiative Tuesday night that voted for President Joe Biden in the 2020 election. The other four states are much more Republican-leaning and the initiatives had opposition from their leaders.

Voters in Arkansas rejected a constitutional amendment to legalize recreational marijuana. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a former Drug Enforcement Agency administrator, was part of the campaign against the amendment. Arkansas approved medical marijuana in 2016 but did not expand its legality this year.

“The marijuana industry spent millions of dollars trying to write itself into the Arkansas Constitution. Now they know that Arkansans do not support that kind of crony politics,” said Jerry Cox, executive director of Family Council Action Committee, which opposed the measure. “Communities in Arkansas don’t want to be like Portland or Chicago. The people who backed Issue 4 should think twice before trying to legalize marijuana in our state.”

North Dakota rejected a ballot measure to legalize recreational marijuana for the second consecutive midterm election.

Voters in South Dakota also rejected a ballot measure in the midterm election after passing an amendment in 2020 that was eventually struck down by the state’s Supreme Court. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who won reelection, was one of the opponents of the measure.

“Thank you to everyone who voted to protect our kids and keep our communities safe from recreational drugs in South Dakota. You can be proud that your voice was heard and we won this battle,” Protecting South Dakota Kids, a group that opposed the initiative, said in a Facebook post.

Attitudes toward decriminalizing or legalizing it have softened in recent years in Congress, and a bill to legalize it passed the House earlier this year before getting stalled in the Senate. Several pieces of legislation to regulate it and expunge criminal records have been introduced, though the two chambers have been unable to come to an agreement on any bill.

Advocacy groups hope Tuesday will propel more movement on the issue in Congress.

“In the coming weeks, we anticipate that Congressional lawmakers will move ahead with longstanding promises to advance federal reform legislation while, at the state level, we anticipate numerous governments to once again take up a variety of bills protecting and expanding the rights of those adults who consume cannabis responsibly,” NORML deputy director Paul Armentano said in a statement.

President Joe Biden signed an executive order last month granting pardons to thousands of Americans who had been convicted of a federal “simple possession” charge. It was a significant change in the president’s past stances on marijuana, though it’s still unclear if he would sign a bill to decriminalize it on a federal level.

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