Election Day 2024 marks yet another big moment for the future of marijuana reforms

Election Day 2024 marks a good time to check out this updated resource page, "Drugs on the Ballot," authored by the great staff at the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center (DEPC) at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.   On that page, with the help of a cool graphic, one can be readily reminded that just about every big Election Day over the past dozen years has been a big moment for state marijuana reforms in the United States.  This year is no different, with a very big legalization vote taking place in Florida and voters in other smaller (red) states also considering marijuana reform initiatives.

Of couse, this election year also has a number of interesting federal marijuana reform stories afoot.  The out-going Biden Administration has advanced, but not completed, an effort to reschedule marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act from Schedule I to Schedule III.  Interestingly, both former President Donald Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris have expressed support for federal rescheduling of marijuana on the campaign trail.  But I think it quite uncertain whether either of them (and particularly their allies) will be keen to simply follow the path advanced by the Biden Administration.  In addition, with control of both chambers of Congress up for grabs, the next Congress might (though likely will not) seek to have some direct say in the matter come 2025.

For a wide array or reasons, I think the impact of the 2024 election on marijuana reforms are for now just as uncertain as the results of the election itself (as I write around 12noon on November 5).  I am hopeful that we will know the actual results of the election relatively soon, but I suspect we will not be able to fully assess the impact of the 2024 election on marijuana reforms for years to come.

For those eager to track marijuana initiatives in real time, Marijuana Moment has this page "Live 2024 Marijuana Election Results."