Where is Legalization on the Ballot This Year?

By Zack Huffman via Cultivated News

Driving the news: After a two-year drought, this year could finally see more states legalize.

2024 broke a six-year streak of at least one state legalizing every year. And last year was also a dud for legalization, but momentum persists even as the federal government continues to stall on rescheduling.

Here is a rundown of various efforts for state-level legalization in a shrinking pool of prohibitionist holdouts.

Good shot, but no guarantees 

Virginia: Virginia technically legalized cannabis in 2021, but after four years of obstruction, the Commonwealth finally has a governor that is willing to support the launch of a cannabis market. Final regulations and the start of licensing is expected before the end of the year.

North Carolina: Governor Josh Stein created the North Carolina Advisory Council on Cannabis with the intended goal of developing preliminary regulatory recommendations by March 15, 2026 with the intention of creating a framework for the legislature to legalize.

New Hampshire: New England’s doughnut-hole of legalization is once again looking at cannabis legalization. The State House passed a bill at the beginning of the year that would legalize cannabis and allow existing medical operators to convert to for-profit status. It remains to be seen if, much like the last few attempts, this effort falls in the Senate.

Pennsylvania: Negotiations continue in Pennsylvania’s legislature on how legalization in the Keystone State should look. There appears to be bipartisan support for legalization in both the state Senate and House, but disagreement persists in how a legal market should operate.

Florida: Voters are likely to see legalization back on the ballot this November after it failed to gain the state-mandated 60% threshold of support in 2024. A recent poll showed a slip dip to 51% in support of legalization in the Sunshine State.

Hawaii: Legislators filed a bill about two weeks ago that would allow voters to decide on legalization. The move comes after a legislative attempt from the state Senate last year failed to survive the House.

Indiana: The Hoosier State has a pair of bills in play this session. One would decriminalize possession up to 2 ounces and the other would reclassify cannabis to Schedule III in the state, potentially easing the path to legal medical.

South Carolina and Kansas have a bill that would legalize medical, while Georgia’s legislature is debating an expansion to its limited medical program.

On the other side: Idaho has a good shot maintaining prohibition. 

One campaign to legalize is still collecting signatures, while a separate campaign would block the state’s ability to legalize any narcotic through voter approval has already qualified for the 2026 ballot.

There are also ongoing campaigns to rollback legalization in Massachusetts, Maine, and Arizona. In all three cases, the campaigns have been accused of dishonesty when gathering signatures. Further reporting shows that the campaigns in Massachusetts and Maine are bankrolled by out-of-state interests. 

The bottom line: Turmoil on the federal level and rollback campaigns aside, it appears that there is still momentum for state-level legalization.

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VaporVanity.com, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

This article is from an external, unpaid contributor. It does not represent High Times’ reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy. 

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