Marty's Travels

My house has wheels

Legal Pot on the Ballot

Four states are voting to legalize a cannabis market this time. Others have medical marijuana issues on the ballot, but as usual I tend to ignore those.

Arizona — Arizona has such a well-developed medical marijuana program that it looks like a fully legal market in other states. Should the ballot measure pass, transition to the fully legal market will be almost instantaneous. And pass it will. Unlike the last time they tried to legalize, there is next to no opposition. Proponents are basically the existing medical operations that have a monstrous amount of money if they need it.

New Jersey — This looks like a for-sure pass, with support from the government officials; the Senate has already begun hearings on how to implement the system. If passed, this one will set off a chain reaction of me-too states nearby.

Montana — Voters here must answer two questions on the ballot to approve a full-blown system. Polling (a tad dicey there) indicates greater than 50% approval. Passage appears likely.

South Dakota — This one is tough to call because polling is thin, and voters are given the choice of either medical or recreational programs. If either passes, the governor is extremely hostile and will probably obstruct implementation.

I’d say in a couple of weeks there will be two new states with fully legal cannabis systems, maybe three.