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On November 3, another important set of elections are coming up along with the 2020 presidential election. The residents of five US states will be asked on their stance on legalizing recreational marijuana. If referendums pass, these states will join the other 11 that have legalized recreational cannabis.
Key Summary: If voters choose to support recreational marijuana, more than a third of American people are going to live in the states where weed is at par with alcohol. Medical marijuana is more widely accepted across the country with 22 states currently providing services to its residents in need.
Smoking it up Like a Cigarette: In the 1970s, the United State federal government classified cannabis as a Schedule I drug, criminalizing possession, distribution and consumption of marijuana. From the 2000s, a few states have started to open doors for legalized usage of the drug, reflecting the public opinion and looking for extra tax revenues.
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In 2012, Colorado led the nation by becoming the first US state to legalize recreational marijuana. Known to be effective in reducing pain for patients with terminal illness and ameliorating the impact of seizures and depression, medical marijuana was first legalized in California in 1996. The drugs’ medical usage is now legal in 22 states; recreational usages, in 11 states.
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The cannabis referendum will take places in Arizona, New Jersey, Montana, Mississippi and South Dakota. Mississippi is voting to recognize the medical usage, while the other four states is voting on expanding the drug’s usage to recreational. Recent polls suggest that the referendums are likely to pass. If so, 15 US state will recognize the recreational usage of the drug.
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Full legalization means that there would be cannabis-infused gummies sold in local dispensaries. They are called “edibles” in America, any digestible snacks mixed with marijuana. Even after its full legalization, marijuana will be bought and sold under a strict set of regulations, with only a handful of state-licensed dispensaries allowed to legally distribute the drug. In California, where all types of marijuana usage is legal, sales cannot take place around school or after 10pm.
Cannabis Industry: It is unfamiliar to us in Korea, but cannabis is already a mega-business in the West. Last year, the world’s cannabis market has expanded to $15 billion, a gross sum that is three times bigger than the drone market.
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Cannabis is used in a wide spectrum of goods. Apart from recreational and medical usage, cannabis is a crucial material in textile, shoes, food and biofuel production. In the US and Canada, hemp seeds even go into snacks for kids and the elderly with its psychoactive chemical removed. Dozens of firms in North America specialize in cultivation, distribution, sales and processing of cannabis.
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Nonetheless, it is not easy for these US corporations to run its business like other firms. Cannabis is still classified as a Schedule I drug, meaning that it is still illegal in the federal level. This makes it very difficult for cannabis firms to have access to banking.
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Most of the big banks with nationwide service often refuse to take cannabis firms as clients, fearing prosecution or sanctions. Many of the US cannabis firms went public in Canada, where the drug is legal across the nation. The cannabis giants like The Green Organic Dutchman and Aurora Cannabis have market capitalization of a few billion dollars. The medical cannabis market, for example, will exceed $11 billion by 2022, according to the Brightfield Group.
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Joe Biden would probably be a better candidate for cannabis industry. “Nobody should be in jail for smoking marijuana,” said Biden during a 2019 press conference. President Trump has not stated his position on marijuana usage but appointed Jeff Sessions to Attorney General in 2017, a conservative who sought to crack down on cannabis usage.
Legal Weed Has Gained a Momentum: In the US, marijuana is widely used even in the states where it is illegal. More than two-thirds of the American people support legalization of the drug, according to a 2019 poll by Pew Research Center, an important context to the November cannabis referendum taking place even in the red states like Mississippi. Some expect that Biden would push for a full cannabis legalization if elected as president. Across the Pacific, marijuana is still strictly illegal here in Republic of Korea. Those who distribute or consume the drug can be sentenced up to five years in prison or 50 million won in fines.
