Look, we all know that 2024 didn’t exactly turn out to be a stellar year for cannabis legalization: South Dakota, North Dakota, and Florida all failed to pass legalization measures at the ballot box (the latter required a 60% approval).
Yet 2025 could turn out much better for legalization proponents. Several states appear poised to put forth bills to legalize recreational cannabis or medical marijuana. The best bets? Adult-use in Pennsylvania and Hawai’i.
So whaddaya say, Leafly Nation? Let’s keep the train a-rolling!
Read on to learn which other states we’ve got our eyes on, the specifics of the measures themselves, and where the campaigns currently stand.
Hawai’i
My money would be on Hawaii being the best bet for legalization in 2025.
Karen O’Keefe, Marijuana Policy Project, in Marijuana Moment
Although Hawai’i failed to pass adult-use legalization last year, some activists see it as the lowest-hanging fruit in 2025. Karen O’Keefe, director of state policies at Marijuana Policy Project, explains that the state’s Democratic trifecta—control of the governorship, the state House and the state Senate—fuels her optimism. “My money would be on Hawaii being the best bet for legalization in 2025,” she said in an interview with Marijuana Moment, before acknowledging that it’s still not a “slam dunk.”
Pennsylvania
You’d think that Pennsylvania woulda got its act together at this point: it boasts one of the most vocal pro-legalization senators in the country and a pro-legalization governor. All of its neighbors—except West Virginia—have legalized, too. But no such luck for the Keystone State. Yet.
Some activists think that momentum is building, and that state Democrats—who kept control of the state House in November’s elections, while the Senate remains in Republican hands—could successfully push a bill in 2025.
“The nation is now looking at Pennsylvania to be the next large state to legalize adult-use cannabis,” the group Responsible PA said in a statement in November. “The conversation will also undoubtedly become a major budget item for PA lawmakers heading into 2025.”
A recent bipartisan stab at legalization in the Pennsylvania state house included a pathway for expungement for non-violent offenders and social equity licenses. It would have allowed existing medical shops to open a single additional location. We’ll be keeping an eye on whether those policies make it into the next proposal.
Until then, Pennsylvanians can give their dollars and taxes to neighboring legal New Jersey.
Idaho
Idaho boasts some of the harshest marijuana laws in the country, including a ban on CBD products that contain more than 0.0% THC. Yet the ambitious folks at Kind Idaho nonetheless aim to get an adult-use measure on the 2026 ballot.
To be clear, history ain’t exactly on their side: Kind Idaho failed to gather enough signatures to get medical marijuana on the ballot in either 2022 or 2024. But what the hell, stranger things have happened. Here at Leafly HQ, we’re hoping that the third time’s the charm for the Gem State!
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Kansas
The Kansas Legislature may take another crack at legalizing medical marijuana—their fifth—during the 2025 session, which began on January 13.
State lawmakers came closest to success in 2021, when a legalization bill cleared the House. Yet the state Senate shot it down. Public radio station KCUR reports that the roller-coaster MMJ market in neighboring Oklahoma may deter lawmakers from supporting a bill in Kansas.
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It’s unclear what provisions the bill would contain, but we can point towards lawmakers’ 2024 attempt for some guidance: That bill included a comprehensive list of qualifying conditions, but did not permit edibles or smokable cannabis.
Kentucky
Although Kentucky just launched its medical marijuana program on New Years Day, Governor Andy Beshear (D) is already signaling that he’d support an adult-use cannabis program, if MMJ goes well. Don’t tempt us, Andy!
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New Hampshire
Well, here’s the good news. New Hampshire lawmakers have said that they will make a renewed push to legalize adult-use cannabis in 2025.
And here’s the less good news: Newly-elected Governor Kelly Ayotte (R) does not want to play ball.
As a result, even House Majority Leader Jason Osborne (R), who supports legalization in the state, doesn’t see it happening anytime soon. “I mean, we had an opportunity with the last governor to put that issue behind us, and we, frankly, blew it,” he told WMUR news. “So, I don’t imagine coming back to that for another decade, probably.”
South Carolina
In the waning days of 2024, South Carolina Republican state Senator Tom Davis re-filed a medical marijuana bill called the South Carolina Compassionate Care Act in advance of the state’s 2025 legislative session. Davis got a similar version of the bill over the finish line in the state Senate in 2024, but it failed to pass muster in the state House.
Davis is confident that a more limited bill offers more potential for his state. “It requires doctors in patient authorization, doctor supervision,” Davis told WSPA 7 News. “It requires pharmacists to dispense it. It is a very conservative bill because that’s what South Carolinians want.”
Here’s to hoping 2025 is the year that Davis, and South Carolina patients, all find victory!
Texas
Look, here at Leafly, we’re a “never say never” kind of crew. But we’re also trying to not get our hopes up about a new bill filed by state Rep. Jessica Gonzalez (D) in December. The bill would legalize the possession and purchase of up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis; it permits individuals to store up to 10 ounces at home. Public consumption would remain illegal. We’ll keep you posted.
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Wisconsin
Republican lawmakers in the Wisconsin state Legislature have regularly stymied the goals of Democratic Governor Tony Evers (D), including cannabis reform. Now, according to Marijuana Moment, Evers is making a push to allow for citizen-led ballot measures in Wisconsin. That policy, Evers hopes, would lead to legalization.
Voters appear to be on his side. A recent poll from the conservative Institute for Reforming Government found that two-thirds of rural Wisconsin voters—to say nothing of the generally more progressive city dwellers—would support legalization.
Until then, Wisconsinites can give their dollars and taxes to neighboring legal Illinois.
Did we miss a state? Leave a comment below and let us know. Stay tuned to Leafly News for legalization updates in all of these states!