Bolts Magazine provides a guide to drug referendums in the 2022 midterms
by Alex Burness, Bolts
It’s only been ten years since voters in Colorado and Washington State legalized recreational marijuana. Those were national milestones at the time, but others quickly followed; recreational marijuana is now legal in seventeen more states, and the November midterms could expand that map further, potentially bringing legal marijuana deeper into conservative areas.
![oregon drug decriminalization, dispensary open sign](https://progressivehub.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/oregon-drug-decriminalization-uai-258x145.png)
Five states are voting on legalizing recreational marijuana, and most are staunchly Republican. The issue has long drawn support across the political spectrum, and these elections will again test the sense of a growing national consensus against marijuana prohibition.
Even President Biden, who was a dedicated soldier in America’s war on drugs while a senator, is coming around. Last week he ordered a federal review of marijuana’s classification as a “Schedule 1” substance, defined as having h “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse,” and he pardoned an estimated 6,500 people with federal convictions for marijuana possession, plus thousands more convicted in the District of Columbia.
The national debate over the war on drugs is also shifting past marijuana. Colorado, which helped launch the wave of weed legalization a decade ago, is now considering emulating a measure adopted by Oregon in 2020 and legalizing psychedelics.
Recent Posts
VIDEO: A Blueprint For Countering American Fascism
July 26, 2024
Take Action Now Our First Annual Henry A. Wallace Symposium offered lessons from real-life heartland organizers on how to fight for a multiracial…
Gavin Newsom Orders Removal Of Homeless Encampments
July 26, 2024
Take Action Now “The only way to end homeless encampments in California is to end the need for homeless encampments,” an expert said.…
The Crackdown On Antisemitism Doesn’t Have Much To Do With Antisemitism
July 26, 2024
Take Action Now Republican lawmakers increasingly conflate anti-Zionism with antisemitism in an effort limit pro-Palestine speech and criticism of…
Netanyahu’s Unhinged And Bellicose Congressional Address Draws Scorn
July 25, 2024
Take Action Now ‘Our enemies are your enemies,’ the prime minister insisted, setting up confrontation with Iran. By Blaise Malley,…