Though Republican cowardice held the Senate in Tuesday's midterm elections, we did get two encouraging signs of opposition to the GOP's anti-intellectualism: Democrats bagged House control, while weed emerged victorious on multiple occasions.
Voters in Michigan wisely said "yes" to recreational use with the approval of Proposition 18-1, which—like nine other states before them—legalizes marijuana outright for those 21 and up.
"Voters have once again sent a message loud and clear that it is time to legalize and regulate marijuana," Marijuana Policy Project executive director Steve Hawkins, who assisted in organizing the pro-logic initiative, toldRolling Stone of the vote Wednesday. Michigan now stands as the second largest state with an awesome recreational marijuana stance. California, of course, is the largest.
On the medical side of the aisle, voters in Missouri and Utah moved to make that the law of their respective lands Tuesday in one way or another.
As NORML (the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) political director Justin Strekal explained in a statement to Complex, Missouri's Amendment 2 is a "patient-centered proposal" that keeps the power out of the hands of politicians. "Of the three proposals on the ballot, we believed that Amendment 2 was the clear choice for voters, and the voters agreed," Strekal said.
Utah's voting in of Proposition 2, meanwhile, is hopefully a sign that local lawmakers will support a quick instatement of the Utah Medical Cannabis Act. "It is our hope that Utah's politicians will respect the will of the electorate and move swiftly to enact The Utah Medical Cannabis Act in a manner that comports with both the spirit of the law and the letter of law," Strekal said Tuesday night.
Sadly, a legalization effort in North Dakota didn't have the same success.
Per a Quinnipiac University poll released this April, 93 percent of American voters are down with medical legalization. Outright legalization, the best kind, scored a record-setting 63 percent approval level in the same poll.
So, hesitant states, what gives?
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