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Five States Have Recreational Marijuana on the Ballot

By Jeralyn, Section Elections 2016
Posted on Tue Nov 08, 2016 at 03:28:33 PM EST
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Voters in Arizona, California, Massachusetts, Maine, and Nevada will vote on legalizing marijuana for recreational use today.

The people behind the ballot initiatives in these five states are all using the same sales pitch to sell their cause: Legalizing weed will be a boon to the state treasury. Maine: “Tax dollars for schools & police”; Massachusetts: “Tax and regulate”; Nevada: “Jobs, jobs, jobs.”

Money seems to be a big factor:

On Oct. 28, the Marijuana Policy Group published a comprehensive report crediting legal weed with having created 18,005 full-time jobs and adding about $2.4 billion to the state’s economy in 2015. Excise and sales taxes alone brought in $121.5 million; much of the remaining increase in revenue was driven, essentially, by weed tourism.

[More...]

Medical pot initiatives are on the ballot in Arkansas, Florida, and North Dakota. Montana has a medical pot initiative that removes restrictions imposed by the state legislature after it repealed an initiative approved by voters.

the Legislature, with SB 423, repealed the “Medical Marijuana Act” in 2011 and replaced it with the “Montana Marijuana Act”,overriding the will of the voters and creating obstacles for patients’ safe access to medical marijuana.

A Trump Attorney General/Department of Justice would roll-back Obama DOJ policy of not interfering with state laws that allow marijuana use. It would be like going back to Nixon and Reagan's War on Drugs. We need federal law to move forward, not back.

What we need is a referendum on deactivating the DEA. The agents can move to the Defense Department and take their intelligence skills honed from decades of intercepting communications to the Middle East. They can train to be advisors to the Iraqs and Kurds, or, since targeted killing will persist no matter who gets elected, they can direct drone strikes on overseas terrorists. We'd save a lot of money putting fewer people in jail, closing their 94 offices around the world and extraditing fewer people to the U.S. to stand trial on drug offenses committed halfway around the world.

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    Five States Have Recreational Marijuana on the Ballot | 7 comments (7 topical)

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    ftr, I voted yes to legalize in CA today. (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Tue Nov 08, 2016 at 10:14:12 PM EST
    Too many illegal grows hidden in our State and Federal lands that are only found out when their farmers start fires that destroy our forests.

    My kids were pretty astonished.

    yes! (none / 0) (#6)
    by linea on Tue Nov 08, 2016 at 10:22:51 PM EST
    absolutely nothing changes except it's legal and people buy it in stores. people who dont use pot dont suddenly start using it. the positives are that there are no longer pot deals on the streets with people armed with pistols and pot smokers arent going to jail.

    Parent
    That ought to bring the (none / 0) (#1)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Nov 08, 2016 at 03:57:26 PM EST
    young voters out.

    When they go low (5.00 / 2) (#3)
    by Peter G on Tue Nov 08, 2016 at 05:59:58 PM EST
    We get high.

    Parent
    I voted yes (none / 0) (#2)
    by CST on Tue Nov 08, 2016 at 04:14:27 PM EST
    Turnout in MA is extremely high, despite no senators on the ballot or competitive congressional races. Last I saw Hillary was up by 30 which might just be her highest margin anywhere.

    But the ballot questions are bringing everyone out.  It's not just pot, but that's definitely one of the bigger/closer ones.  That and raising the cap on Charter schools.

    My only concern is that since medical is legal and possession is decriminalized there will be less urgency to legalize.  That being said, pot has never lost a ballot in MA.  It would be pretty freaking cool to go to a pot shop here at home though, and should definitely help with the tourist industry since Maine is a lot further from the rest of the east coast population centers.

    i dunno (none / 0) (#4)
    by linea on Tue Nov 08, 2016 at 07:39:32 PM EST
    "medical is legal and possession is decriminalized" in WA state yet the initiative to legalize passed.

    i like that you can buy organic varieties at pleasant retail stores in posh parts of town (and the type you are getting is clearly defined). i dont smoke pot myself, but i keep it for the occasional guest who does enjoy it.

    Parent

    None of these votes matter. (none / 0) (#7)
    by Chuck0 on Wed Nov 09, 2016 at 01:21:13 PM EST
    The law and order candidate and his newly engorged DEA will shut it all down. No MJ stores in CA or MA. And all the ones in CO will be closed by end of 2017 and their proprieters and employees in federal prison. Obama just made space available. Trump and Giuliani will fill it up.

    Five States Have Recreational Marijuana on the Ballot | 7 comments (7 topical)

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