MJBizMag January 2022 - 54
OPEN FOR
BUSINESS
BACK TO THE BALLOT BOX
Residents of several states are likely to vote on marijuana
legalization initiatives in November
By Jeff Smith
A
s many as six recreational
marijuana referendums could
reach state ballot boxes during
the 2022 election, industry officials
say. And some of the citizen-led
initiatives are in conservative states
such as Arkansas and North Dakota.
Thirty-eight states already have
adopted medical marijuana programs,
but citizen efforts are underway to
legalize MMJ in three more: Idaho,
Nebraska and Wyoming.
Depending on how those efforts
play out, new markets could generate
hundreds of millions of dollars in
annual sales.
In 2020, marijuana referendums
made a clean sweep on Election Day,
with voters approving new recreational
markets in Arizona, Montana, New
Jersey and South Dakota as well as new
medical programs in Mississippi and
South Dakota. (State Supreme Courts
later overturned South Dakota's
recreational market and Mississippi's
medical program.)
MJBizDaily projected Arizona and
New Jersey combined would generate
nearly $2 billion a year in marijuana
product sales by 2024. The 2020 ballot-box
sweep reflected strong public
support for legalization spreading
across the country-even in so-called
" red states. " Surveys show that twothirds
of Americans support adult-use
marijuana legalization, although the
number is lower in many conservative
states.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader
Chuck Schumer, who is proposing
a comprehensive federal marijuana
legalization bill, the Cannabis
54 January 2022 | MJBizMagazine
Administration and Opportunity Act,
told media company Black Enterprise:
" The country is realizing that all the
myths about (the extreme dangers of)
marijuana are just that-myths. "
POTENTIAL PITFALLS
Not all is well on the ballot-initiative
front, however. Rather, opponents
have opened a new playbook. Antimarijuana
officials in Mississippi and
South Dakota have been successful in
overturning marijuana initiatives on
technical grounds-even after voters
had approved them.
The most recent defeat came in
South Dakota, where the state Supreme
Court shot down a recreational
marijuana initiative opposed by
Gov. Kristi Noem.
But cannabis advocates are at it
again, collecting signatures for another
attempt at adult-use legalization at
the 2022 ballot box. The latest South
Dakota initiative doesn't include
commercial sales.
" We decided to move forward
with an initiative that was the least
likely to be challenged in court, "
Matt Schweich, Marijuana Policy
Project's deputy director, told
MJBizMagazine. " Our proposed 2022
cannabis legalization initiative is very
narrowly focused on personal freedom
regarding cannabis. "
Following is a snapshot of what's
happening on the legalization front in
various states.
ARKANSAS
Proposal: Recreational
Possible ballot initiatives: Arkansas
Recreational Marijuana Amendment of
2022 (Arkansas True Grass)
Under the proposed constitutional
amendment, the Arkansas
Agricultural Department and the
MJBizMag January 2022
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