Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Vote could stoke pot market, sway Congress
Four states, including New Jersey, will decide on legalizing marijuana Nov. 3
Voters in four states from different regions of the country could embrace broad legal marijuana sales on Election Day, and a sweep would highlight how public acceptance of cannabis is cutting across geography, demographics and the nation’s deep political divide.
The Nov. 3 contests in New Jersey, Arizona, South Dakota and Montana will shape policies in those states while the battle for control of Congress and the White House could determine whethermarijuana remains illegal at the federal level.
Already, most Americans live in states where marijuana is legal in some form, and 11 now have fully legalized the drug for adults — Alaska, California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Colorado, Michigan, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, and Vermont. It’s also legal in Washington, D. C.
In conservative Mississippi, voters will consider competing ballot proposals that would legalize medicinal marijuana, which is allowed in 33 states.
Nick Kovacevich, CEO of KushCo Holdings, which supplies packaging, vape hardware and solvents for the industry, called the election “monumental” for the future of marijuana.
New Jersey, in particular, could prove a linchpin in the populous Northeast, leading New York and Pennsylvania toward broad legalization, he said.
“It’s laying out a domino effect ... that’s going to unlock the largest area of population behind the West Coast,” Kovacevich said.
The cannabis initiatives will draw voters to the polls who could influence other races, including the tight U. S. Senate battle in Arizona.
In Colorado, one supporter of legal cannabis could lose his seat. Republican Sen. Cory Gardner, who is struggling in an increasingly Democratic state where some in the industry have lost faith in his ability
to get things done inWashington.
Despite the spread of legalization in states and a largely hands- off approach under President Donald Trump, the Republican- controlled Senate has blocked cannabis reform, so under federal law, marijuana remains illegal and in the same class as heroin or LSD. That has discouraged major banks from doing business with marijuana businesses, which also were left out in the coronavirus relief packages.
“Change doesn’t come from Washington, but to Washington,” said Steve Hawkins, executive director of theMarijuana Policy Project. “States are sending a clear message to the federal government that their constituencies want to see cannabis legalization.”
The presidential election could also influence federal marijuana policy, though the issue has been largely forgotten in a campaign dominated by the pandemic, health care and the nation’s wounded economy.
Trump’s position remains somewhat opaque. He has said he is inclined to support bipartisan efforts to ease the U. S. ban on marijuana but hasn’t established a clear position on broader legalization. He’s appointed attorneys general who loath marijuana, but his administration has not launched crackdowns against businesses in states where pot is legal.
Joe Biden has said he would decriminalize — but not legalize — the use of marijuana, while expunging all prior cannabis use convictions and ending jail time for drug use alone.
Fami liar arguments are playing out across the states.
Opponents fear children will be lured into use, roads will become drag strips for stoned drivers and widespread consumption will spike health care costs.
Those backing legalization point out the market is already here, though in many cases still thriving underground, and argue that products should be tested for safety. Legal sales would mean tax money for education and other services, and social justice issues are also in play, after decades of enforcement during the war on drugs.
An added push this year could come from the virusdamaged economy— states are strapped for cash, and legalized cannabis holds out the promise of a tax windfall. One Arizona estimate predicts $ 255 million a year would eventually flow for state and local governments, in Montana, $ 50 million.
Despite the pandemic and challenges including heavy taxes and regulation, marijuana sales are climbing. Arcview Market Research/ BDSA expects U. S. sales to climb to $ 16.3 billion this year, up from$ 12.4 billion in 2019.
In New Jersey, voters are considering a constitutional amendment that would legalize marijuana use for people 21 and older. It’s attracted broad support in voter surveys.
If approved, it’s unclear when shops would open. The amendment also subjects cannabis to the state’s sales tax and lets towns and cities add local taxes.