Election 2020

Between multiple state legalization wins and the election of a hesitantly pro-reform presidential candidate, the 2020 election solidified a stronger future for the US cannabis industry.

The Mississippi Supreme Court is set to hear a legal challenge to the petition process used to qualify the state’s overwhelmingly successful ballot initiative for legalizing medical cannabis.

New Jersey Assemblyman Jamel Holley is calling for the immediate end of minor cannabis arrests and prosecutions after the state’s landslide vote in favor of legalization.

Anti-cannabis activists in Montana have filed a post-election lawsuit against the state’s successful adult-use cannabis legalization ballot measure, claiming its allocation of new funding violates the state constitution.

With legalization the big winner in Tuesday night’s election, what other cannabis justice measures prevailed?

With the landmark passage of Measures 109 and 110, Oregon voters have opted to decriminalize drugs and legalize medicinal psilocybin.

Arizona became the 13th state to legalize cannabis on Tuesday after voters approved Proposition 207, which legalizes the possession and use of cannabis by adults aged 21 or older.

South Dakota voters have chosen to legalize cannabis for both adult and medical use. It will be the first time a state has jumped straight from prohibition to full legalization.

Mississippi voters have overwhelmingly approved Amendment 65, an advocate-led ballot initiative to legalize medical cannabis.

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.

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

Montana’s Supreme Court has rejected a legal bid by Wrong for Montana — an anti-cannabis group — that attempted to invalidate the legalization voter initiative appearing on state ballots this year.

Kurt Alme, the Trump-appointed US Attorney for the District of Montana, has penned an anti-cannabis op-ed ahead of the state’s legalization vote. The editorial hinges on “Reefer Madness” tropes such as addiction and the gateway theory, as well as an unsubstantiated claim that legalization leads to more traffic fatalities.

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.

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.

Joe Biden, former vice president and current Democratic presidential candidate, said that he supports “mandatory rehabilitation” for people convicted of consumption-related drug crimes.

Some petition circulators for Kanye West’s presidential campaign in Arizona have said they were collecting signatures for cannabis legalization — which has already qualified for the November ballot — in an effort to attract more voters.

The Republican National Committee Chair said that the legal status of medical cannabis is an issue best left for individual states to decide.

Kamala Harris, Joe Biden’s pick for the second half of the Democratic presidential ticket, said in their first joint interview that the Biden-Harris Administration will pursue a national policy of cannabis decriminalization.

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.

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