Voters in Four Red States to Decide on Cannabis Legalization
On November 5, voters in four red states will have the opportunity to legalize cannabis and its extracts. Meanwhile, Massachusetts residents will decide whether to become the third state to legalize psychedelics.
According to a 2023 UC Berkeley Psychedelics Survey, 61% of voters support the therapeutic use of psychedelics under regulation. Similarly, a 2024 Pew Research Poll found that 88% of Americans support legalizing marijuana for medical and/or recreational use. In fact, the majority of states that have legalized recreational marijuana have voted Republican in the last presidential election, with support for legalization increasingly bipartisan, especially among young people.
This year’s presidential election saw Donald Trump express support for decriminalizing marijuana in certain circumstances, while Kamala Harris pledged to federally legalize it. This bipartisan support has led some to declare marijuana legalization a newly bipartisan issue.
Here are the ballot initiatives involving marijuana and psychedelic legalization this Election Day:
* Massachusetts: Question 4 would allow adults to use limited quantities of certain psychedelics, such as psilocybin and mescaline, at home. It would also create a “natural psychedelic substances commission” to oversee the licensing of psychedelic therapy centers.
* Florida: Amendment 3 would legalize the possession and purchase of adult-use cannabis, where medical marijuana is already legal.
* North Dakota: Measure 5 would allow for the adult production, sale, possession, and use of cannabis, after similar measures failed in 2018 and 2022.
* South Dakota: Initiated Measure 29 would allow for the possession and distribution of cannabis, as well as restrict home cultivation to up to 12 marijuana plants per household.
* Nebraska: Initiative Measures 437 and 438 would legalize medical marijuana, with the former allowing for possession up to five ounces and the latter regulating medical marijuana through the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission.
These ballot initiatives come as the psychedelic and cannabis industries continue to grow, with psilocybin and cannabis being legalized in Oregon and Colorado, respectively. The psychedelic market is smaller and more expensive than the cannabis industry, with sessions at treatment centers in Oregon running thousands of dollars.
Florida’s Amendment 3 is particularly significant, as it would make the state the 25th to legalize recreational marijuana. The state’s large population and tendency to be a trendsetter for Southern states make it a key battleground in the fight for marijuana legalization.
