Which States Will Legalize Marijuana This Year And Next?
At the beginning of 2014, when Colorado became the first state to allow the sale of marijuana for recreational use, the whole world was watching. “It was insane,” says Toni Fox, owner of Denver’s 3D Cannabis Center, where the first sale happened. “On January 1, there were close to 200 reporters here. Controlled chaos. It was just packed with reporters.”
But the more successful Colorado’s model is and the more imitation it inspires, the less attention it will get. “Colorado is not going to be the top dog for much longer,” says Kayvan Khalatbari, co-owner of the Denver Relief dispensary. “I think it’s only a matter of time before Colorado really gets overlooked.”
Khalatbari predicts that “up to a dozen states” will have legal marijuana by the end of 2016, which may not be far from reality. Last year Alaska and Oregon joined Colorado and Washington, where voters also approved legalization in 2012, and similar ballot initiatives have a decent or better chance of succeeding in at least half a dozen states this year and next, while legislators are considering legalization in states such as Vermont and Rhode Island. These are the ballot initiatives to watch:
The constitutional amendment sponsored by Responsible Ohio is the one legalization measure that is expected to be on the ballot this year rather than next. The Marijuana Legalization Amendment designates 10 sites owned or controlled by its financial supporters—who include Columbus real estate developer Rick Kirk, fashion designer Nanette Lepore, former NBA player Oscar Robinson, and former NFL player Frostee Rucker—as the only places where commercial production will be allowed, at least initially.
That marijuana minyan has been controversial. “How [does] creating a cartel benefit anyone besides the people who profit from it?” asked a member of the audience at a February forum sponsored by the Central Ohio chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that “the room erupted in applause.” Ohioans to End Prohibition, a competing group aiming for the 2016 ballot, calls for “a free market in legal marijuana.” Under its measure, the group says, “any adult or corporation will be able to apply for and purchase commercial licenses to grow, manufacture, or sell marijuana and marijuana products.”
In February, responding to criticism of its locked-down approach to cannabis cultivation, Responsible Ohio decided to include “regulated and limited home growing” in its initiative. The amended version of the measure allows adults 21 or older to grow up to four flowering plants and possess up to eight ounces at home for personal consumption, provided they obtain state-issued licenses. Home cultivation is allowed by every state that has legalized marijuana so far except for Washington. Like the other initiatives, Ohio’s allows adults to possess an ounce or less of marijuana in public, but it prohibits consumption in “any public place,” which it does not define.