Voters in five states decide on Election Day whether to approve recreational marijuana, a move that could signal a major shift toward legalization even in the most conservative parts of the country.
The proposals are on the ballot in Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota and follow President Joe Biden’s moves to decriminalize marijuana. Biden announced last month that he was pardoning thousands of Americans convicted of simple marijuana possession under federal law.
Advocates for marijuana initiatives have said Biden’s announcement may give their efforts a boost.
Recreational marijuana is legal in 19 states, and polls have shown opposition to easing legalization. Every state with recreational marijuana on the ballot except Maryland voted for Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
All five states also currently have legal medical marijuana programs. That includes Arkansas, which in 2016 became the first state in the Bible Belt to legalize medical marijuana. Dispensaries in the state opened in 2019, and more than 91,000 patients have cards to legally purchase marijuana for medical conditions.
Legalization campaigns have raised about $35 million in the five states, with the vast majority in Arkansas and Missouri. More than 85 percent of contributions in those two states come from donors associated with companies that hold medical marijuana licenses, according to an Associated Press analysis of the most recent campaign finance reports.
In Arkansas, supporters have been running upbeat ads touting the thousands of jobs they say the measure will create. Opponents have come up with more ominous pitches, warning voters to “protect Arkansas from big pot.”
The initiative has drawn criticism from traditional legalization opponents, as well as some medical marijuana advocates, who say the Arkansas proposal is too restrictive and would only benefit a handful of dispensaries. Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former head of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, has also opposed the measure.
Missouri’s proposal would legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older and eliminate arrest records and previous convictions for nonviolent marijuana offenses, except for selling to minors or driving under the influence. The Maryland proposal would also make changes to criminal law and create the automatic expungement of previous marijuana possession convictions.
North Dakota’s measure would allow people 21 and older to legally use marijuana at home, as well as possess and grow restricted amounts of cannabis. It would also establish policies to regulate retail stores, growers and other types of marijuana businesses.
South Dakotans, including a significant number of Republicans, voted to legalize marijuana possession in 2020, but that law was struck down by the state Supreme Court in part because the proposal was tied to marijuana medicinal and hemp. This year, recreational pot is holding its own in front of voters.
In Colorado, where recreational marijuana has been legal for nearly a decade, voters on Tuesday approved a proposal that would allow the use of certain psychedelic substances. If approved, it would make Colorado the second state to take such a step.
Melody Finley, a Republican in Little Rock, Arkansas, said she voted for the state’s legalization measure because she believes it can help some people with certain conditions.
“If you can buy alcohol, you can buy it,” said Finley, 47, a dance instructor.
But Rick Huffman, a voter from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, voted against that state’s legalization proposal on Tuesday, two years after supporting recreational marijuana on South Dakota’s 2020 ballot.
“I have a child who is now a teenager,” she said. “So I think it will eventually happen, but maybe I’ll wait until my kids are grown.”
Jeff Borgrud, 68, a Democrat from Fargo, North Dakota, said he voted against that state’s recreational marijuana proposal.
“I don’t see any use for marijuana use,” said Borgrud, a retired Navy veteran. “Maybe an occasional but very limited medical purpose.”