Marijuana is on the ballot.AP Photo/Ted S. Warren
Marijuana legalization is on the ballot in four states in Tuesday’s midterm elections.
Michigan and North Dakota are weighing measures to legalize recreational marijuana for all adults, while bright-red Utah and Missouri residents are voting on medical marijuana measures.
Marijuana legalization is sweeping the US: in June, Oklahoma voted to legalize medical marijuana, joining the 31 states that already have medical marijuana laws on the books. A further nine states, including California and Colorado, have legalized the possession and sale of marijuana to all adults over the age of 21.
It’s also one of the few hot-button topics with widespread support. According to a recent poll from Pew Research, 62% of Americans support legalizing recreational marijuana, including 74% of millennials.
And 2018 has been a banner year for marijuana legalization in North America. In October, Canada legalized marijuana federally, becoming the first Group of Seven country to do so. Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled in October that marijuana prohibition was unconstitutional, paving the way for the country’s new leader — Andrés Manuel López Obrador — to follow Canada’s lead.
Here are all the states voting on marijuana on Tuesday:
Michigan
Voters in Michigan may make the state the first in the Midwest to legalize the possession and sale of marijuana for adults over the age of 21. The bill would allow adults to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana, and allow residents to grow up to 12 plants at home.
The law is more permissive than other states with legal marijuana: most allow residents to only possess up to an ounce at a time.
Polls show that measure is likely to pass, according to Ballotpedia.
North Dakota
North Dakotans will vote on one the most permissive legal marijuana policies yet. The measure sets no limits on possession and legalizes the commercialization of marijuana without creating a regulatory framework, per The Washington Post.
The measure, if passed, will also automatically expunge criminal records for residents with marijuana-related convictions.
Utah
AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico
Bright-red Utah is voting on Proposition 2, a medical marijuana measure that will allow residents with qualifying illnesses to legal access to marijuana.
Recent polls show the bill is polling just above 50%, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. Opponents and supporters of the bill agreed that Utah’s legislature would convene in a special session in November to hammer out a more restrictive medical marijuana bill, meaning that Utah is likely to have some form of medical marijuana access on the books regardless of the bill’s fate.
The Mormon Church, however, is opposed to medical marijuana and holds strong sway in Utah politics, per The New York Times.
Missouri
Missouri residents are set to vote on three separate medical marijuana initiatives on Tuesday.
Amendment 2 would legalize medical marijuana and tax it at 4%, while Amendment 3 would legalize marijuana and raise the tax to 15% to support the creation of a state-run agency called the Biomedical Research and Drug Development Institute that would seek out cures for disease.
The third measure, Proposition C, would legalize medical marijuana and tax it at 2%. If all three measures pass, the measure with the most votes will prevail.
