Drugs on the Ballot

Floridians will have the opportunity to vote on adult-use marijuana through an initiated constitutional amendment in the upcoming general election. Four years after Florida legalized medical marijuana in 2016, Sensible Florida attempted to qualify a similar amendment but was blocked when the Florida Supreme Court deemed the ballot language misleading. Now, after nearly two years of preparation and receiving approval from the state Attorney General and Supreme Court, Smart and Safe Florida has successfully qualified Amendment 3 for the November ballot.

• No - Criminal justice reforms
• No - Social equity provisions
• No - Employment protections
• No - Home grow

After a court ruling prevented voters from voicing their position on medical marijuana in 2020, Nebraskans will have the opportunity to vote on two separate medical marijuana measures in the 2024 election. The Nebraska Medical Cannabis Patient Protection Act protects patients and their caregivers from arrest for the use of medical cannabis as recommended by a health care provider, while the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Regulation Act establishes a commission to regulate and oversee a statewide medical marijuana program. Due to legal issues with the signature gathering process, Nebraska’s Secretary of State has certified the measures for the ballot but has stated it’s possible they could eventually be thrown out. Polling indicates Nebraskans’ support has declined from 2022 levels, but still remains at 70% in favor of legalizing medical marijuana.

In just six years, North Dakota residents will have had the chance to vote on legalizing adult-use marijuana on three separate occasions. Despite repeated attempts by the state legislature to pass legalization bills, these efforts have consistently lacked full support across both chambers. The 2022 ballot measure also failed, with 55% of voters opposing it. This year, Measure 5 will give them another chance to vote on legalization. Recent summer polling on Measure 5 shows that 57% of North Dakota voters remain against legalizing adult-use marijuana.

• No - Criminal justice reforms
• No - Social equity provisions
• No - Employment protections
• Yes - Home grow

Citizens of South Dakota will be voting to legalize adult-use marijuana for the third time in four years in the upcoming general election. In the 2020 election, South Dakota made history as the first state to simultaneously legalize both medical and adult-use marijuana. However, the state Supreme Court later overturned the adult-use measure, citing a violation of the state’s single-subject rule. Two years later, South Dakotans narrowly rejected another adult-use measure by just over 20,000 votes. Now, South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws have introduced Initiated Measure 29, marking their second attempt to legalize adult-use marijuana through an initiated state statute.

• No - Criminal justice reforms
• No - Social equity provisions
• No - Employment protections
• Yes - Home grow

For the first time in Massachusetts history, voters this year will have the chance to legalize a regulated program for psychedelics. Although several cities in Massachusetts have already passed psychedelic reform measures, Question 4 would allow individuals 21 and older to possess, grow, and transfer psychedelics within certain state-level limitations. The measure also proposes the creation of regulated psychedelic centers and facilitators authorized to sell taxable psychedelics to legal users. So far, only two other states, Colorado and Oregon, have approved similar measures at the state level.

• No - Criminal justice reforms
• No - Social equity provisions
• No - Employment protections
• Yes - Home grow

Legislatively Referred State Statute - Proposition 314, Referred to the People by the Legislature Relating to Responses to Harms at the Border

• [A yes vote] makes it a crime for persons not lawfully present in the United States to submit false information in applications for public benefits and employment, and to enter Arizona outside ports of entry, or refuse to comply with orders to return. Criminalizes selling fentanyl that causes the death of a person.

Initiated State Statute - Proposition 36, Allows Felony Charges and Increases Sentences for Certain Drugs and Theft Crimes.

• A YES vote on this measure means: People convicted of certain drug or theft crimes could receive increased punishment, such as longer prison sentences. In certain cases, people who possess illegal drugs would be required to complete treatment or serve up to three years in prison.

Initiated State Statute - Measure 119, Unionization of Cannabis Workers Initiative

• [A yes] vote requires cannabis retailers/processors to agree to remain neutral when labor organizations communicate with employees about collective bargaining rights; licensure/certification penalties possible.

After polls indicated slim support for adult-use and overwhelming support for medical marijuana, Issue 3 failed in 2015 by over 27 points after voters became concerned with the initiative’s language that created a monopoly for 10 pre-selected cultivators. 2022 polls revealed similar support for adult-use legalization. The 2022 effort, An Act to Control and Regulate Adult Use Cannabis, missed a deadline for the first round of signatures and state legislators and officials challenged the initiative, resulting in the measure being sidelined. Late in the summer of 2023, the Ohio Secretary of State officially cleared Issue 2 for the November 2023 election. Voters then approved the measure to legalize adult use marijuana 57.2% in favor to 42.8% against. The measure became effective a month after it was approved, and adult use sales began in August 2024.

• No - Criminal justice reforms
• Yes - Social equity provisions: Proposes financial assistance for equity applicants, dispensary and cultivation licensing opportunities for equity applicants.
• No - Employment protections
• Yes - Home grow

After undergoing multiple technical changes, Oklahoma’s attempt to approve adult-use hit a roadblock after the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled the measure would not have enough time to undergo all legal challenges in addition to missing the certification deadline in late August. Reform advocates argued that the state’s new signature verification process caused the measure to miss the deadline and that the state Supreme Court should have expedited the additional procedures required before being officially placed on the ballot. Justices unanimously agreed that citizens would not be able to vote on State Question 820 in 2022 but could vote on the measure in the next possible election. Just weeks before the midterms, Governor Stitt issued an Executive Proclamation establishing a special election for Oklahoma residents to vote on State Question 820. Citizens rejected the measure on March 7, 2023, with 38.3% voting for and 61.7% voting against the measure.
 

• Yes - Criminal justice reforms: Offers expungement provisions.
• No - Social equity provisions
• No - Employment protections
• Yes - Home grow

After the Arkansas Supreme Court’s recent decision, Arkansas residents were given the opportunity to vote to legalize full adult-use marijuana. In August of 2022, the Arkansas Supreme Court instructed the Secretary of State to place the measure on the ballot while the measure’s ballot title was being litigated in the courts. Just under fifty days before the November election, the court ruled that votes toward the legalization measure will be considered legitimate. Issue 4 was rejected by Arkansawyers with 56.3% voting against and 43.7% voting for the measure.

• No - Criminal justice reforms
• No - Social equity provisions
• No - Employment protections
• No - Home grow

As of May 2019, just over 10% of Coloradoans live in a jurisdiction that has made psilocybin mushrooms law enforcement’s lowest priority following the City of Denver’s approval of Initiated Ordinance 301. Proposition 122 will expand these efforts for the entire state by decriminalizing multiple psychedelic drugs currently listed as controlled substances for adults 21 years old and older. The measure also establishes a program that allows individuals to receive “natural medicine services” at licensed locations administered by a facilitator. Proposition 122 marks the state’s first attempt to decriminalize psychedelics at the ballot box and follows a similar path undertaken by Oregon in 2020. Proposition 122 was approved with 51% voting for and 49% voting against the measure.

• Yes - Criminal justice reforms: Record sealing provisions
• No - Social equity provisions
• No - Employment protections
• Yes - Home grow: Decriminalizes cultivation

Originally introduced in early 2022, Marylanders voted on a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment to legalize adult-use marijuana for adults 21 years of age and older. Question 4 marks the second time voters considered a state legislature-proposed constitutional amendment to legalize adult-use marijuana. HB 837 (implementing legislation that was already passed by the state legislature) will be enacted and establish the basic regulatory framework for implementing the adult-use program. Question 4 was approved with 65.5% voting for and 34.5% voting against the measure.

• Yes - Criminal justice reforms: Offers expungement provisions.
• Yes - Social equity provisions: Proposes Cannabis Business Assistance Fund for minority and women-owned businesses.
• No - Employment protections
• Yes - Home grow

Over a hundred years have passed since Missouri residents approved their first citizen-initiated ballot measure calling for a new constitution. 2022 marked the first time Missourians had a chance to consider full adult-use legalization at the ballot box. Confirmed by the Secretary of State in early August, the initiated constitutional amendment was considered four years after voters approved Amendment 2 and legalized medical marijuana with 65.59% of the vote. Missourians approved Amendment 3 with 53.1% voting for and 46.9% voting against the measure.

• Yes - Criminal justice reforms: Offers expungement provisions.
• Yes - Social equity provisions: Licensing provisions for eligible applicants.
• No - Employment protections
• Yes - Home grow: Requires personal cultivation registration card

For the second time in four years, North Dakota residents had the option to approve adult-use marijuana legalization in the upcoming election. Since the last measure in 2018, the state legislature has attempted to enact adult-use legalization on several occasions, passing multiple bills in the House but ultimately failing in the Senate. Measure 2 was rejected with 55% voting against and 45% voting for the measure.

• No - Criminal justice reforms
• No - Social equity provisions
• No - Employment protections
• Yes - Home grow

Less than one year after the South Dakota Supreme Court struck down the 2020 voter-approved initiative legalizing adult-use marijuana, South Dakotans had another shot at having their voices heard through Measure 27. After finding that the 2020 ballot measure to legalize adult-use violated the state’s single-subject rule, South Dakota became the first state to overturn a citizen vote legalizing marijuana. While South Dakotans approved the 2020 constitutional amendment by over 30,000 votes, Measure 27 was rejected with 52.85% voting against and 47.15% voting for the measure.

• No - Criminal justice reforms
• No - Social equity provisions
• No - Employment protections
• Yes - Home grow