Cannabis, or marijuana, has come a long way on the road back to legitimacy in the United States, and it soon may pass an important milestone: rescheduling. That’s the technical term for reclassifying it as a less dangerous drug, which would loosen some restrictions around it at the federal level.
Cannabis was widely used as medicine in the 1800s and early 1900s. But Congress effectively criminalized it in 1937 with passage of the Marihuana Tax Act. However, starting in 1996, marijuana has since become accessible in most states for adult medical or recreational use.
Listen up, stoners, it’s time to register and vote. Lord knows the people that want to put you in a cage will be. If you like weed, and being left alone—you got two things to do:
Twenty-four states already have legal cannabis—three more could join them. Here’s what’s at stake.
Florida cannabis legalization
Florida Amendment 3 will need every cannabis-lover and then some to reach 60% percent of the vote—the threshold to approve weed legalization in the Sunshine State.
Amendment 3 fully legalizes holding up 3 ounces of bud and 5 grams of concentrate—ending some 66,000 arrests per year and generating hundreds of millions in court savings and tax revenue. All Florida medical dispensaries could sell to adult-use consumers.
Everyone from singer Miguel to former President Trump has endorsed the measure. But far-left and far-right extremes—from Gov. Ron DeSantis to the most conspiratorial tokers—say Amendment 3 either goes too far or not far enough.
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Florida’s powerful, entrenched Republicans have also made it harder to vote.
Florida’s powerful, entrenched Republicans have also made it harder to vote. In 2022, Gov. Ron DeSantis canceled all standing vote-by-mail requests.
According to the Tallahassee Democrat, the GOP-led Florida Legislature has ripped out mail-in ballot boxes, added new voter ID rules, and deterred voter registration. For example, you must request to vote-by-mail every voting cycle, instead of once every 4 years.
“Voter rolls may now be purged annually, you should check your voter status every year well in time to address it before any voting deadlines.”
The deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot is Thursday, Oct. 24. Even if you think you’re registered, check your voter status.
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South Dakota cannabis legalization
South Dakota will again vote on legalization. Measure 29 legalizes 2 ounces, 16 grams of hash, and 1600 milligrams of THC in edibles. You could grow up to 12 plants per household. A May poll showed Measure 29 losing with only 41.8% of the vote.
North Dakota will again vote on legalization. Measure 5 legalizes 1 ounce of cannabis, 4 grams of hash, and 300 mg edibles, plus up to 6 plants in a household. You don’t have to register to vote in North Dakota.
Nebraska could legalize medical cannabis with Initiative 438. A yes repeals medical weed prohibition in Nebraska, and regulates the medical cannabis trade. So far 38 states have medical cannabis.
The deadline to register to vote in Nebraska is October 18, so do it today.
A union-funded measure to increase unions in the Oregon cannabis industry is on the ballot. Current law already allows unions at pot businesses. Oregon Measure 119 mandates each cannabis business sign a ‘labor peace agreement’ or lose their license. The deadline to register to vote in Oregon is Oct. 15.
Psychedelics legalization
Massachusetts psychedelics legalization
Massachusetts Question 4 would legalize psychedelics for adults 21 and up, as well as tax them, and create an Advisory Board.
You could grow “any plant, fungus, or preparation containing” DMT, mescaline, ibogaine, or psilocybin. And you could possess 1 gram of DMT, 18 grams of mescaline, 30 grams of ibogaine, 1 gram of psilocybin, and 1 gram of psilocyn. You could also grow said plants or fungus in a 12 by 12-foot area.
Massachusetts ‘shroom legalization is on track to fail with 42% support.
Act and vote locally to have the most impact. Local city council members and county supervisors will decide if your town can have a dispensary, or allow licensed farms.
State representatives and state senators decide how high your taxes will be, or if you can have a cannabis lounge.
Furthermore, Marijuana Policy Project made a guide for New Hampshire voters who want to pick pro-reform candidates. New Hampshire is a prohibition state with no initiative process, so voters have to pick a governor and legislators to advance their rights.
More weed and psychedelics voter guides to check out
A raft of groups have gathered up election info for you to digest. Check out voter guides from:
Even better—ASA has a toolkit to help you track your candidates, get a meeting with them, and brief them on compassionate reforms they can pledge to uphold.
Ballotpedia—Ballotpedia does a bang-up job briefing voters on 2024 ballot measures.
OK, we’ll add more resources as we find them. Be sure to register and vote— because pot prohibitionists certainly will be.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a bill on Tuesday to let cannabis cafes in California serve food and drink and host live performances, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. This comes one day after he vetoed a bill that would have allowed small cannabis growers to sell products directly to consumers. https://www.ganjapreneur.com/california-gov-signs-bill-to-let-cannabis-cafes-serve-food-host-live-music/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=california_gov_signs_bill_allowing_live_music_events_at_cannabis_cafes_kamala_harris_talks_legalization_and_more&utm_term=2024-10-02
Federal cannabis legalization is a justice issue, but it’s also a pocketbook issue. A new analysis published in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics found that national legalization would likely reduce cannabis prices in higher-cost US markets. Simply put—weed is cheaper in places where it’s legal. For cannabis supporters wondering how their votes in the next election could impact the future of cannabis, take note.
A super-majority of American voters support cannabis legalization, and support remains high in states with established adult-use markets. Some of those voters are lucky enough to stop by their local shop or place a delivery order, but many others continue to acquire their cannabis through the illicit (illegal) market.
This analysis suggests that national legalization could benefit states with legal cannabis just as much as states with no cannabis legislation—not only by changing the law, but also changing the access to legal cannabis from other states.
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Tracking cannabis prices across states
This analysis from economist Barry Goodwin at North Carolina State University focused on cannabis prices across US markets. Goodwin collected data from 15 states with varying degrees of cannabis legislation to see whether the cost of cannabis in one state impacted prices in another. Wholesale weekly price data came from Cannabis Benchmarks, which conducts a national survey of cannabis prices each week.
Cannabis is still illegal at the federal level, so transporting it or selling it across state lines remains a felony offense. Even when two states both have legal cannabis laws, cannabis commerce between them is still explicitly illegal. Understanding how cannabis price integration exists between states can also inform how the illicit market impacts cannabis prices across the country.
California sets the cannabis price standard
Results show that California plays a huge price leadership role across the country. And prices have plunged under legalization, with ounces of shake going for as low as $23 per legal ounce in Los Angeles this month.
As a long-established epicenter of cannabis production and culture, California produces far more cannabis than it can consume. Much of that (as in millions of pounds) gets illegally exported to other states.
I find that California, which is a leading cannabis exporter, plays a price leadership role.
Goodwin, 2024
Goodwin found that prices began to decline in 2018 as legalization took effect in California and penalties collapsed for cultivation.
prices tended to drop substantially beginning in 2018, which again was a period of expansion in the legalization of cannabis in many states.
Goodwin, 2024
The blue lines show prices falling in legalization states that permit enough farms and stores to meet demand. (Goodwin, 2024)
Previous research also indicates that one-third of California cannabis growers never applied for a cannabis license because of the regulatory barriers and high cost of entry to participate in the legal market. They kept growing, though. The flooded market swamped demand and lowered prices. Prices went back up in 2020 during the pandemic, then fell even further afterward.
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The results show how California’s influence on price extends to much of the country, even to the most geographically distant, like Maine. The majority of states price their cannabis far higher than California.
As Goodwin explains, “the likely mechanism integrating cannabis markets is the thriving trade in illegal cannabis, which has long preceded recent state-level legislative actions that have legalized cannabis use.”
When prices get too high in other states, the illicit market prices for California cannabis become competition for the regulated market, pushing prices down. But due to the legal risks, there is a significant increase in cost for transporting the cannabis, so prices must be significantly higher to trigger this equalization.
This leaves the country with prices that are weakly integrated with California’s, but still much higher.
The exceptions are just a few western states that have their own history of cannabis production and mature recreational markets—Colorado, Washington and Oregon. These states already have prices well below those in California, which is likely why they are not impacted by California prices.
Still, Goodwin notes that “policy changes that relax restrictions on interstate trade would likely further integrate markets, bringing higher-priced markets more in line to form a national cannabis market.”
In other words, national cannabis legalization, or other policies that allow for interstate cannabis commerce, could significantly bring down your cannabis prices.
Where the major candidates stand on cannabis reform
Those looking to push forward cannabis legalization can help with their vote in November. Florida votes on adult-use legalization Amendment 3, for example.
Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, recently became the first major party ticket to explicitly support federal cannabis legalization. While Harris has prosecuted pot crimes, her position has become more progressive over time. While in office as VP, she championed pro-cannabis legislation including the MORE Act, pardons for cannabis convicts, and rescheduling cannabis.
Now as a presidential candidate, Harris has voiced her support for completely removing cannabis from the controlled substance list, sharing on X (formerly Twitter) that “the War on Drugs was an abject failure. It’s time to legalize marijuana and bring justice to people of color harmed by failed drug policies.”
Cannabis freedoms increase supplies and lower prices. (Goodwin, 2024)
Trump has also shifted towards a more pro-cannabis view recently, supporting adult use in Florida, as well as federal rescheduling and SAFE banking.
However, when he was president before, he directed the Department of Justice to crack down on cannabis offenses and used part of his salary to pay for a promotional campaign about the negative effects of marijuana. On the other hand, he supported a bill to protect states’ pro-cannabis laws.
