Missouri and Maryland have legalized the use of recreational
marijuana via the ballot box, in the 2022 midterm elections. CNN projects highlight
that three similar referendums have been voted down in South Dakota, North
Dakota, and Arkansas. South Dakota allowed the medical and recreational use of
Cannabis in the 2020 elections, but the state's Supreme Court ruled the ballot
measure on recreational wed invalid for technical reasons after Governor Kristi
Noem lodged a complaint. The second time around, the referendum is expected to
be narrowly defeated.
This means that recreational marijuana will be legal in 21 states of America and the District of Columbia. After successful ballot measures in the 2020 election, weed became legal in New Jersey, Arizona, and Montana. During 2021 and 2022, state legislatures in Virginia, Rhode Island, New York, Connecticut, and New Mexico passed bills to legalize Marijuana. These recent development have brought recreational cannabis to more East Coast states after the American West had long been the hotbed of legalization efforts. Colorado and Washington were the first states to legalize this drug in 2012.
Although legal sales of marijuana can take some time because
starting up a licensing system for dispensaries usually takes time, possession
and consumption are expected to become officially legal more quickly in the
states in question. There are currently 37 states that have medical marijuana
laws, including all that allow recreational use.
Infographic by: statista
