Cannabis Legalization Will Be A Hot Topic For Many States Heading Into 2021

In what could be a stand out year for the cannabis community, several key states aim to legalize cannabis before the end of 2020!

There are many great reasons why states that have not already legalized cannabis should do so immediately, like being able to provide life saving medication to sick patients in need or simply relief to those of us who suffer with mental health issues like depression and anxiety (symptoms that have been exacerbated significantly by the COVID-19 lockdowns) but unfortunately none are more powerful than the one facing many of the prospects in the upcoming 2020 election, MONEY.

As many Americans enter their 5th month of staying at home, local government’s budgets for the following year are being gutted in response to the economic toll that the Novel Coronavirus has taken over the last several months. Faced with the prospect of being unable to provide social services to their residents and and overall threat to the quality of life they have become accustomed to living, many governors are going to have to wake up to the fact that legalizing cannabis could save them from what looks to be a very dismal fiscal future.

Map of States Planning To Vote On Cannabis In The 2020 Election

As of July 2020, there are more than 42 states in America with some form of legal cannabis and we could see several more added to that list.

Cannabis Legalization In America

It is no secret that cannabis is a popular drug. According to the World Health Organization, “Cannabis is by far the most widely cultivated, trafficked and abused illicit drug.

“About 147 million people, 2.5% of the world’s population, consume cannabis annually, compared to 0.2% consuming cocaine and 0.2% consuming opiates. In the present decade, cannabis abuse has grown more rapidly than cocaine and opiate abuse.”

One of the latest Gallup polls (2019) shows that 12% of Americans have used some form of cannabis in the last year. That number is sure to be vastly under the number of people who have actually tried it or used it as they are likely could be to afraid report their own use of a drug that is still illegal on the federal level.

States most likely to tackle the question of legalization in the upcoming year include New Jersey (quite possibly the most important one of them all), Mississippi (ballot initiative has already qualified for 2020), Alabama, South Dakota, and Kentucky. Other potential candidates include major economic hub New York, Connecticut, Vermont and Pennsylvania.

List of States With Recreational Marijuana (21+)

Alaska

California

Colorado

District of Columbia*

Illinois

Maine

Massachusetts

Michigan

Nevada

Oregon

Vermont

Washington