Several states across the U.S. will hold open polls for voters to decide the direction that cannabis will take within their state. Two of the states that have cannabis-related ballots on November 6th will have voters that will decide on if recreational cannabis use will become legal for adults. Michigan and North Dakota are the two states that potentially may legalize recreational use of cannabis for adults over the age of 21. North Dakota’s Measure 3 initiative will go further than Michigan’s Hemp Legalization Initiative (Proposal 1) with an expungement of marijuana violations on criminal records.
The next step down on the rung of cannabis progress, the legalization of medical cannabis, is on the ballot for voters to decide on in Missouri and Utah. Voters in Missouri will decide on Amendment 2 to legalize medical cannabis sales with a tax that goes toward a biomedical research and drug development institute for research on cancer and other forms of disease, veteran healthcare, childhood education, drug treatment and public safety, and an additional tax for veteran healthcare. Utah’s voters will face a way to fix a difficult situation with the proposed legislation, Proposition 2, which will legalize medical cannabis, limited cultivation facilities that can perform tests and cannabis sales, and the cultivation and personal use of up to 6 cannabis plants by medical card holders. Under the current Utah law, the legislation only allows for the state’s ability to process, cultivate, and sell cannabis to patients who hold a medical cannabis card after meeting the strict qualifications for cannabis sales. Those who currently qualify to be sold cannabis to in Utah are those who are terminally ill with a less than 6 month life expectancy and research institutions that meet qualifications.