Ballot Initiatives

Across the U.S. today, voters from Montana to New Jersey will consider a series of ballot initiatives that could represent yet another dramatic shift for the country away from our archaic cannabis and drug policies.

Cannabis advocates in Nebraska are regrouping for 2022 after their medical cannabis initiative was struck down in September by the state Supreme Court.

Both South Dakota’s medical cannabis and adult-use cannabis legalization voter initiatives are currently polling over 50% among likely voters.

Likely voters in New Jersey indicated they support the state’s cannabis legalization initiative by a two-to-one margin, according to a recent poll.

Two Arizona polls suggest that the state’s cannabis legalization initiative is likely to pass this November — the vote looks close, however, and undecided voters could still make or break the campaign.

Medical associations in Mississippi are encouraging voters to reject the activist-led Initiative 65 — which would legalize medical cannabis — in favor of Initiative 65A, which was approved for ballots by the legislature and would enact a less comprehensive cannabis program.

The Lancaster County Sheriff who challenged and blocked Nebraska’s medical cannabis voter initiative said he doesn’t know who paid for the legal work to get the issue in front of the court.

Nebraska’s Supreme Court has removed the state’s medical cannabis initiative from the November ballot following a legal challenge by the Lancaster County Sheriff.

Oklahoma cannabis activists formally withdrew this year’s legalization petition due to signature-gathering risks associated with the coronavirus pandemic.

President Trump is reportedly concerned that cannabis legalization initiatives in multiple states, including swing state Arizona, could dramatically improve Democrats’ voter turnout in the 2020 election.

Recent polling suggests that 66 percent of New Jersey voters support cannabis legalization; pollsters also logged majority support for social-use consumption lounges and for writing social equity provisions into the state’s future industry.

A ballot initiative to legalize cannabis for adult use in Montana has been approved by state officials to appear on the state’s General Election ballot in November.

Arizona’s Secretary of State confirmed this week that the state’s campaign for a cannabis legalization ballot initiative had submitted enough valid signatures to appear the November ballot.

Arizona’s ballot initiative to legalize adult-use cannabis has survived a legal challenge by opponents and is expected to move forward to the official signature verification stage.

Arizona Gov. Doug Rucey said the state’s ballot initiative to legalize cannabis is “a bad idea based on false promises” and that he will vote against the measure.

A poll of New Jersey voters found that 68% of respondents plan to vote in favor of legalizing cannabis for adult use this November.

Anti-cannabis activists in Arizona are suing to prevent the state’s voter initiative to legalize adult-use cannabis from appearing on the November ballot, arguing that the petition summary didn’t give voters the full picture.

Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana have submitted over 182,000 signatures in support of a statewide legalization ballot initiative; the campaign only needs 121,000 of those signatures to be validated to secure the initiative’s spot on the ballot.

Oregon’s initiative to legalize the medicinal use of psilocybin has officially qualified for the November ballot.

Separate campaigns to legalize psilocybin therapy and to decriminalize all illegal drugs have teamed up in Oregon to gather signatures.

New Zealand has unveiled the cannabis legalization plan that voters will decide on later this year; the proposal would set the legal consumption age at 20, would allow for so-called ‘coffee shops,’ and would permit home grows.

A recent poll of New Jersey voters suggests that 61 percent are likely to vote in favor of cannabis legalization this November.

Florida senators are hoping a new state law — which calls on the state Supreme Court to determine whether a ballot initiative might violate the U.S. Constitution — will block a proposed initiative for the 2022 legalization of adult-use cannabis.

New Approach Montana, a cannabis legalization group, is suing the state saying they should be allowed to collect petition signatures electronically during the coronavirus crisis.