It may be an off-year election, but it's a big one for drug policy
reform. In seven weeks, voters across the country will have a chance to
accelerate the unprecedented momentum to legalize marijuana and end the
wider drug war. In fact, there are more drug policy reform questions on
the ballot this November than ever in American history. Voter
initiatives -- primarily reforming or repealing marijuana laws -- appear
on the ballots in seven states, at least 17 municipalities and one U.S.
territory. To help you keep score at home, here's an overview, starting
with the highest-profile measures.
Oregon: Passage of Measure 91
will make the Beaver State the third to legalize marijuana for adults
outright. Like the historic laws adopted in Colorado and neighboring
Washington two short years ago, this initiative would legalize
possession of small amounts of marijuana for adults 21 and older and
create a statewide system to regulate production and sales. And similar
to Colorado's law, Measure 91 would allow adults to cultivate small
amounts of marijuana under controlled circumstances. In this entirely
vote-by-mail election, the initiative has already been endorsed by the
Pacific Northwest's largest daily paper and would likely boost efforts across its southern border to end marijuana prohibition in California two years from now.
Alaska: The other statewide marijuana legalization initiative, Measure 2,
is closely modeled on Colorado's Amendment 64 and tracks many of the
elements in Oregon's prospective law. Alaska was something of a
marijuana reform pioneer as possession and cultivation of small amounts
for personal use in a private residence has been protected under the
Alaska Constitution since the 1970s. Alongside Oregon in 1998, Alaska
was among the first states to legalize medical marijuana. With a
deep-rooted respect for personal freedom, Alaska would become the first
red state to legalize marijuana for adult use, no doubt raising eyebrows
across the political spectrum.
Florida: Amendment 2
is the only statewide medical marijuana initiative on the ballot this
year, and it's one to watch. Victory would make Florida, with its huge
population and bell weather status in American politics, the very first
southern state to adopt a medical marijuana law. With 23 other medical
marijuana states and super-majority support
nationally, passage of Amendment 2 would effectively settle any
lingering questions on public acceptance of marijuana as medicine. It's
going to be a challenge, though, since Florida law requires 60% to pass a
voter initiative. While polls indicate enormous support, casino mogul Sheldon Adelson contributed a few million dollars
to stop it as Amendment 2 is associated with Charlie Crist's comeback
gubernatorial campaign. Adelson's intervention has created the first
well-funded opposition to a statewide marijuana reform campaign ever.
California:
On the heels of reforming its harshest-in-the-nation Three Strikes law
in 2012, Californians are now poised to refine six low-level, nonviolent
offenses, including simple drug possession, from felonies to
misdemeanors. Proposition 47
would then dedicate the savings -- likely more than $1 billion a year
-- to schools, victim services, and mental health treatment. With
retroactive sentencing and expungement provisions, the impact of Prop 47
in California on wasteful corrections spending and individual lives
would be profound and surely resonate across the country.
District of Columbia: Earlier this year, the D.C. Council adopted the nation's most far-reaching marijuana decriminalization law. In November, voters in the nation's capital will decide whether to go even further. Initiative 71
makes it legal for adults over the age of 21 to possess and cultivate
small amounts of marijuana. While District law prevents the ballot
initiative from addressing the sale of marijuana, the D.C. Council is
considering a bill that would tax and regulate marijuana within the
District. D.C. has the highest per capita marijuana arrest rates in the
U.S. with enormous racial disparities as police target African Americans
for 91 percent of these arrests. Initiative 71 will be the first
marijuana reform campaign fought primarily on the issue of the drug
war's ongoing toxic impact on black communities.
Other races:
Voters in municipal elections from the Northeast to Micronesia will
weigh in November 4 on a range of marijuana focused issues.
· Guam: Voters could make this U.S. territory the first to adopt medical marijuana. Thebinding referendum would allow for dispensaries regulated by the Department of Public Health and Social Services.
· Maine:
By a wide margin in 2013, Portlanders chose to eliminate criminal
penalties for adult possession of up to an ounce of marijuana. In seven
weeks, voters in York, South Portland, and Lewiston will tackle the same question.
· Michigan:
In the last two years, residents of seven cities have voted to remove
local penalties for adult possession of small amounts of marijuana in a
private residence. As of now, a whopping 11 other cities (with apparently more to come) will have the chance to follow suit this year.
· New Mexico:
Last month, the City of Santa Fe became the first in the state to
decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. On the ballot in
November, voters in Bernalillo (Albuquerque) and Santa Fe Counties will decide if their county should affirm decriminalization efforts.
Public
opinion has shifted dramatically over the last decade in favor of
reforming marijuana laws and dismantling the egregious excesses of the
drug war. And elected officials have begun to take notice. The U.S.
House has voted five times in recent months to let states set their own
marijuana policies while Senators Rand Paul and Cory Booker have
introduced similar bi-partisan legislation in the U.S. Senate in
addition to a cluster of other long-overdue criminal justice reforms.
When the dust settles on November 5, the momentum for change in this
country will only have accelerated.
Stephen
Gutwillig is the Deputy Executive Director for Programs of the Drug
Policy Alliance, the nation's leading organization working to promote
alternatives to the failed war on drugs.
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