Gains in state legislatures slowed down in 2022, but advocates still have the ballot.
State lawmakers are still wary of weed.
Last year, four states legalized marijuana through their legislatures. So far in 2022, only one — Rhode Island — has managed to legalize recreational marijuana, even though public support for liberalizing cannabis laws remains at an all-time high.
With most legislative sessions across the country already wrapped up for the year, the results are clear: “Elected officials remain far behind the times,” said Karen O’Keefe, state policy director for Marijuana Policy Project. If it were left up to voters, O’Keefe believes, every state would have some form of legal cannabis by now.
As it stands, 19 states have embraced full legalization, while 19 others have enacted medical marijuana programs. But many of the remaining holdouts are staunchly conservative states where legalization skepticism runs deep among lawmakers.
Perhaps the biggest setback for industry advocates this year was Delaware, where a bill to remove penalties for possession passed with supermajorities in both chambers, only to be vetoed by the Democratic governor, John Carney. Recreational legalization efforts also came up short in Ohio, Hawaii and New Hampshire, while medical bills failed in Kansas, South Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky. [Read More @ Politico]
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