The November 5 presidential election is just over four months away, and it promises to be a significant day for marijuana law reform.
In the US, 38 states have legalized medical marijuana, with 24 allowing for the recreational possession and use of marijuana. Several statewide initiatives being voted on this November aim to increase these numbers.
With that said, here are the five marijuana initiatives being voted on this November.
South Dakota
Measure 29 if officially on the November ballot in South Carolina. Sponsored by South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws, the proposal would legalize recreational marijuana for those 21 and older, allowing them to possess up to an ounce of marijuana and cultivate up to three marijuana plants at a private residence. The initiative would establish a system of licensed, regulated and taxed marijuana businesses.
South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws were also successful in getting marijuana legalization initiatives on the ballot in 2020 and 2022. In 2020, the measure passed approved by voters, but thrown out by the courts due to the state’s one-issue law for initiatives. The 2022 initiative was narrowly rejected amid lower voter turnout (it wasn’t a presidential election like in 2020).
Now, advocates hope that with updated language addressing the court’s concerns and the renewed attention of a presidential election, the initiative will be approved.
According to polling release last month, a plurality of voters in the state support legalizing marijuana, 45% to 42%.
For the full text of Measure 29, click here.
Florida
Amendment 3, officially on the November ballot in Florida, would legalize recreational marijuana possession, use, and licensed distribution. If passed, adults 21 and older could possess up to three ounces of dried marijuana flower and five grams of marijuana concentrates. These products would be available through licensed marijuana retailers and medical dispensaries with a dual license.
A University of North Florida poll from November showed that 67% of likely voters support Amendment 3, exceeding the 60% needed for it to pass as a constitutional amendment. A recent Fox News poll also indicated strong support at 69%.
By the end of May, the campaign for Amendment 3, Smart & Safe Florida, had raised over $60 million, the highest amount for any statewide marijuana initiative in US history.
For the full text of Amendment 3, click here.
North Dakota
The nonprofit organization New Economic Frontier says they’ve collected over the 15,582 signatures required to place their marijuana legalization measure on the November 2024 ballot, with a deadline of July 8.
The proposed initiative would allow those 21 and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana, four grams of marijuana concentrates, and 1,500 milligrams of adult-use cannabinoid products (300 milligrams of which can be in the form of edible products). The initiative would also permit the personal cultivation of up to three marijuana plants and the purchase of marijuana and marijuana products through licensed marijuana stores.
For the full text of the bill, click here.
Nebraska
Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana (NMM), a nonprofit political committee, says it has collected 90% of the required signatures to place its medical marijuana legalization initiative on the November ballot. A spokesperson for the group stated, “We’re confident our initiative will be voted on this year.”
The medical marijuana legalization initiative aims to “enact a statute that makes penalties inapplicable under state and local law for the use, possession, and acquisition of limited quantities of cannabis for medical purposes by a qualified patient with a written recommendation from a health care practitioner, and for a caregiver to assist a qualified patient in these activities.” The proposal would create the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission to oversee the “registration and regulation of persons that possess, manufacture, distribute, deliver, and dispense cannabis for medical purposes.”
The second initiative would provide legal protections for doctors who recommend marijuana to their patients.
Polling released earlier this year, commissioned by the Neilan Strategy Group and conducted by Data Targeting Inc., found that 70% of voters in the state support legalizing medical marijuana.
Arkansas
Recently a spokesperson for Arkansans for Patient Access says they’re “confident” their marijuana initiative will make the November ballot, with the group required to collect 90,704 signatures by July 5.
The initiative would expand the state’s medical marijuana law, passed in 2016, to allow patients to grow their own marijuana at a private residence, with the limit set at seven mature plants and seven immature plants. It would also remove the retail prohibition on certain smokeable marijuana products such as pre-rolls, and it would legalize recreational marijuana, with the possession limit set at one ounce, if the federal government removes marijuana as a controlled substance.
The initiative would also:
- Allow medical marijuana assessments and renewals to be conducted via telehealth.
- Allow out-of-state patients to receive protections under the state’s medical marijuana law.
- Expand new patient cards to last three years rather than one.
- Allow physician assistants, nurse practitioners and pharmacists to recommend medical marijuana in addition to physicians.
- Allow the above list of healthcare professions to recommend medical marijuana for any condition they deem appropriate, rather than having to follow the current list of qualifying conditions.
