Some Say The Scales Are Tipping: Is Cannabis Legalization Reaching Critical Mass?

New laws legalizing cannabis for adults and medical marijuana patients took effect in three states on Thursday, not only increasing the number of Americans who will have access to legal cannabis but also creating momentum toward legalization that has not yet, not ever, been seen before.

From the historically liberal New York to a GOP-controlled Senate committee in North Carolina, cannabis does not seem to frighten or alienate people as it once did in the not very distant past.

This is what happened. Let’s start with July 1 and work backward.

Connecticut: Starting July 1, adults over 21 are allowed to possess up to one and a half ounces of cannabis on their person and up to five ounces in a locked trunk or secured place in their home. There is however a delay in home grow. MMJ patients will need to wait until Oct. 1 when they can plant up to six plants. Recreational users will have to wait two more years to cultivate for personal use.

South Dakota: Starting July 1, registered medical cannabis patients may possess up to three ounces of cannabis. A separate voter-approved adult-use measure was struck down in Feb. and is being reviewed by the state Supreme Court. Meanwhile, MMJ goes into effect July 1 and that includes a medical marijuana operation launching Thursday at the Flandreau Santee Sioux reservation.

Businesses, MMJ cards, dispensary regulations, as well as the Supreme Court case will all be dealt with in due course, but for now, South Dakota's medical cannabis patients can breathe a sigh of relief. This is an especially sweet victory because South Dakota went from having some of the harshest cannabis laws in the country to become the first state where voters approved medical marijuana and adult-use laws at the same time. Ohio tried that and failed back in 2015.

Virginia: Starting July 1, adults can now legally possess up to one ounce of cannabis and cultivate up to four plants at their primary residence. Legal sales? Virginia has at least two years to wait, so get those seeds into the window planters while the sun is shining. If you don’t have any, activists with Virginia Marijuana Justice are handing out thousands of seeds for free to adults over 21.

Also, on July 1, the smell of weed can no longer be used as a pretext for police to stop and search people.

New Mexico: Legalization went into effect on Tuesday, June 29. Under the new law, passed in a special legislative session in April, adults may possess up to two ounces and grow up to six plants for personal use. Retail sales will not begin until the spring of 2022. Separate legislation facilitating the expungement of past marijuana convictions also went into effect this week

North Carolina: While not exactly qualifying for this list just yet, the state must be mentioned.

On June 30, in a historic vote in the GOP-controlled General Assembly, a Senate committee overwhelmingly approved a proposal to allow medical marijuana for certain conditions.

One Republican senator, Kathy Harrington, summed up the change of attitude not just in her own state, but across the country. "If you'd asked me six months ago if I'd be supporting this bill, I'd probably have said no, but life comes at you fast." 

Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay