Marijuana's 2020 Election Sweep Means Fifteen States Have Legalized
CLARA GEOGHEGAN | NOVEMBER 4, 2020 | 

Four states passed adult-use cannabis laws and two passed medical marijuana initiatives during the 2020 elections. Westword archive

With the presidential race still taking the main stage the day after the November 3 election, it's easy to forget about the fate of recreational and medical cannabis ballot initiatives in five states. But the voters in Arizona, New Jersey, Mississippi, Montana and South Dakota sure remembered, with pot sweeping the polls before the night ended.

Every statewide cannabis legalization measure on a ballot passed last night, as Arizona, New Jersey, Montana and South Dakota voters all approved recreational cannabis possession and sales. Meanwhile, South Dakota and Mississippi votes both approved new medical marijuana programs in their respective states.

Since Colorado and Washington voters lead the way in legalizing recreational pot in 2012, thirteen more states (and Washington, D.C.) have now joined them. And more states legalizing cannabis is good for national cannabis legislation efforts, according to National Cannabis Industry Association media relations director Morgan Fox.

“While state representatives aren’t beholden to representing the interests of their constituents in terms of policies, I think that with every state where you pass one of these laws, there’s that much more potential representation in congress,” he explains.

It will likely take anywhere from one to two years before regulated cannabis will be available to consumers and patients in the newly regulated states, but based on the ballot initiatives, here is what regulated cannabis might look like in Arizona, New Jersey, Mississippi, Montana and South Dakota.

Arizona
Proposition 207, also called the Smart & Safe Act, allows adults 21-and-older to purchase and use regulated cannabis. The Smart & Safe Act passed with 60 percent of voter approval despite open opposition from Governor Doug Doucey.

The Arizona Department of Health Services will hand out marijuana licenses for cultivation, retail and processing facilities; businesses can apply for an early license as soon as January 2021, and established medical marijuana growers will be given application priority. A fiscal analysis released by the Arizona Joint Legislative Budget Committee Staff estimates that the 16-percent sales tax and licensing fees from recreational cannabis would bring in $166 million in revenue per year. Revenue generated from legal cannabis sales will cover administrative costs for cannabis regulation, with remaining revenue to be distributed to district community colleges, firefighters, law enforcement agencies, the Governor's Office of Highway Safety, and the Justice Reinvestment Fund for communities most impacted by the War on Drugs.

Arizona's successful ballot initiative also opens the door for those with prior cannabis crime convictions to expunge their records after July 12, 2021. Individuals convicted with marijuana possession (2.5 ounces or less), cultivation, consumption or transportation can petition Arizona courts to have records of arrests and convictions expunged.

Montana
Two ballot initiatives for recreational cannabis use passed in Montana. Ballot Initiative 190 legalizes recreational cannabis use for adults, and Constitutional Initiative 118 amends language in the state constitution specifying that the legal purchasing age of cannabis for adults will be 21.

I-190 allows adults aged 21 and older to possess 1 ounce of marijuana, and grow up to four cannabis plants in their private residences. Licensing and regulation will be overseen by the Montana Department of Revenue, which will impose a 20-percent sales tax on marijuana products. After covering administrative costs, all revenue generated by regulated cannabis will fund nature conservation programs, substance abuse treatment and prevention efforts, veterans services and health care. The act also allows individuals serving sentences for marijuana-related offenses legalized by I-90 to have their sentences reduced or charges expunged. The Montana Department of Revenue will accept growing, processing and retail applications by January 1, 2022.

Mississippi
Mississippians didn't vote on recreational cannabis this year, but they did pass a constitutional amendment allowing medical marijuana use for patients with “debilitating medical conditions” after voting in rank-style system on competing MMJ initiatives. About 67.9 percent of voters supported medical cannabis legalization overall, with 74 percent of voters preferring Initiative 65 to the alternative amendment 65A. Voters were asked if they supported either initiative or opposed both initiatives, and were then asked which initiative they preferred more; those who opposed both could still specify their preference between the two.

Initiative 65, the winning amendment, specifies 21 qualifying medical conditions for medical marijuana, including cancer, epilepsy, post-traumatic stress disorder and AIDS. The new laws also give doctors the discretion to recommend marijuana for equally debilitating medical conditions when “the use of medical marijuana would reasonably outweigh potential health risks,” according to I-65. The medical marijuana program would be overseen by the Mississippi Department of Health, and caps patient marijuana possession at 2.5 ounces every two weeks. Marijuana sales would be taxed at 7 percent or lower, with the MDH set to have regulations in place by July of next year.

The alternative ballot Initiative 65A would have also allowed medical cannabis use for patients with debilitating conditions, but many details about the implementation would've been left up to state legislators to decide. There were no listed conditions to qualify patients for medical marijuana, nor were there other details like the responsible regulatory agency of the program, an implementation timeline or product taxation.

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New Jersey
New Jersey legalized recreational marijuana, passing Public Question 1 in a landslide, with 67 percent of votes in favor.

Public Question 1 Amends the New Jersey state constitution by adding language to legalize cannabis consumption, possession, growth, transportation and processing for adults who are at least 21. The amendment will go into effect January 1, 2021, with pot sales taxed at the current sales rate of 6.25 percent. Individual municipalities may raise the tax rate on sales within their boundaries by up to 2 percent.

The state's Cannabis Regulatory Commission, the same organization that has overseen New Jersey's medical marijuana program since 2010, will lead regulatory efforts, but the extent of its powers will be decided by the state legislature.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy endorsed the amendment earlier this year — the only governor in the five states with cannabis on the ballot to do so. Murphy framed it as a matter of social equity with an added economic benefit. In the Garden State, someone is 3.5 times more likely to be arrested for a marijuana-related crime if they are black than if they are white; in 2018, marijuana made up for 55 percent of all drug related arrests in the state, with a total of 36,050 arrested.

South Dakota
Most states legalize medical marijuana use before introducing recreational use, but not South Dakota. Both recreational and medical cannabis were passed by state voters November 3.

Measure 26 will allow patients suffering from "debilitating medical conditions" to use medical marijuana. The ballot measure received overwhelming support, passing with 69.2 approval. Patient marijuana possession is capped at 3 ounces, and anyone growing cannabis for medical use must have a minimum of three plants.

Amendment A legalizing recreational cannabis use also passed, but on a narrower margin, with a 53.44 percent majority. Adults who are at least 21 can now posses up to 1 ounce of marijuana and three cannabis plants. Licensing for cannabis production and sales will be overseen by the South Dakota Department of Revenue, and products will be taxed at 15 percent. Revenue collected by cannabis regulation will cover administrative costs of cannabis legislation, and the remaining income will go to South Dakota public schools and the the state's general fund. However, local governments can opt out of any cannabis license types.