The Blue Wave Washes Up Cannabis Reform to the Shores of America

States are starting to go broke and people are more stressed and depressed than ever before as the worldwide pandemic cripples the economy and the need for self-medicating is at an all time high. Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala harris have made mention of national cannabis legalization if they win. Cannabis could be a very essential service, as marijuana reform makes history once again.

Under the Obama/Biden administration, the United States Attorney General delivered the Cole Memorandum, Giving states had the right to adopt legislation implementing a medical marijuana program and that given its limited resources, the Justice Department would not enforce federal marijuana prohibition in states that legalized marijuana in some form for medical or recreational use. States had to implement new compliance and enforcement systems to license and oversee the cultivation, distribution, sale, and possession of marijuana. This step forward proved to work very well, as we saw the cannabis industry flourish with thousands of new jobs and violent crime, addiction, and non-violent drug arrests decreased in states that allowed cannabis use for adults 21 and over. This is part of the reason the drug pandemic spread like wildfire in states that still outlawed cannabis. When people have the freedom to choose and states provide safe access to cannabis, overdose, and addiction mainly from opiates like heroin, alcohol, and prescription pills decline dramatically.

During Donald Trump's reign of power, The Cole Memorandum was rescinded by Attorney General Jeff Sessions in January 2018, and cannabis arrests again were at an all time high. In response to this, Rep. Luis Correa sponsored the Sensible Enforcement of Cannabis Act bill, which prohibits the Department of Justice from prosecuting marijuana-related conduct that is authorized by state law, subject to specified exceptions. This was introduced as a way of enshrining into law the protections offered by the Cole Memo. Proposition 215 was the first bill passed in California decriminalizing medical marijuana over 25 years ago. Since then, 33 states and D.C. had passed laws legalizing or decriminalizing medical marijuana with 11 states and D.C. have legalized marijuana for recreational purposes. Nine of which were through statewide citizen-initiated ballot measures and two through state legislative processes. On Tuesday, 7 initiatives covering cannabis reform were on the ballot and all of these measures passed. Arizona, Montana, New Jersey, and South Dakota have approved statewide ballot measures to legalize marijuana for personal use. Adults 21 and over can now buy and consume personal amounts of cannabis, as it is treated the same as alcohol. Voters in Mississippi and South Dakota approved statewide ballot measures to legalize marijuana for medical use.