This week was a greatly anticipated Midterm election, especially if you are part of the cannabis industry. The main initiatives dealing with cannabis focused on five states: Missouri, Maryland, Arkansas, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Let’s look at what happened!
Arkansas, already having a medical market, rejected Issue 4, which would have opened an adult-use market in the state.
Maryland voters had a 65% response of yes to the question, “Do you favor the legalization of the use of cannabis by an individual who is at least 21 years of age on or after July 1, 2023?” This made Maryland the 20th state to legalize an adult-use market.
Missouri passed Amendment 3, which opened the recreational cannabis market as well as expunging many cannabis-related offenses. Even though the amendment was passed, there is still heavy pushback, but nevertheless, Missouri became the 21st state to legalize the adult-use market.
North Dakota had proposed Measure 2, the second attempt to create an adult-use market since 2018 but was defeated.
South Dakota voters voted “No” to a cannabis-related ballot that would have legalized home-grown cannabis possession. This response followed a state-sponsored lawsuit that killed a measure from 2020 that would have allowed commercial cultivation and the sale of adult-use cannabis.
There was much anticipation leading up to the results of this election, and with 2/5 states approving adult-use cannabis, we are seeing an expansion of the cannabis industry across the United States.
