The American divide over marijuana legislation might be narrowing, judging from several trends across legal, political, and social arenas. With shifting attitudes at both state and federal levels, as well as growing public support and changes in the economic landscape, some see the recipe for a substantial shift toward a broader unity of opinion leaning toward marijuana acceptance.
Movement on the Federal Level
Several recent political moments have shown expanding bipartisan support for marijuana reclassification. Both major presidential candidates have indicated a desire to at least reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous substance. This most likely points to moving marijuana from a Schedule I classification to Schedule III, where it would be considered less harmful than other drugs that are more heavily criminalized.
In fact, the Justice Department has already taken steps in this direction. The proposal to reclassify marijuana is currently under review, with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s public comment hearing scheduled for December. The timing of this process could place the decision on the desk of the next president-elect.
State Elections Move Toward Marijuana Acceptance
Multiple states will put marijuana legalization measures on their ballots this election season, allowing voters to determine the direction of state-level enforcement. Marijuana remains illegal under federal law, but many states have already legalized, decriminalized, or created medical exemptions for use. With twenty-four states plus the District of Columbia already allowing recreational sales, the majority of the American population now lives in a place where recreational marijuana use is an option.
This is both the result of and increasingly a contributor to, the expanding public support for marijuana use. Recent surveys have found that approximately 70% of American adults believe that marijuana should be legalized, which represents a significant increase from past decades. With the help of support from young voters progressively reaching voting age with each passing election cycle, marijuana policy changes have occurred nationwide.
Some of the most resistant states have seen the most activity surrounding marijuana legalization campaigns. In North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska, marijuana measures have repeatedly failed, but during this cycle, measures are again under consideration and will appear on ballots.
Florida has seen one of the largest and most costly pushes for marijuana legalization, drawing significant financial backing from supporters. The state already has a medical marijuana market, but this new initiative would expand this market to allow for recreational sales to adults over 21. Several prominent political opponents of marijuana legalization have chosen to focus their efforts in Florida, turning the state into a battleground for marijuana legislation.
Increased Use of Marijuana and Access to Legal Sales
In states where recreational sales are allowed, legal sellers have been competing against unregulated markets that were already in place before legalization. Cracking down on these unregulated markets has been a major project for several states, while some states have introduced new laws to restrict or ban products containing synthesized cannabinoids like delta-8 THC. In Missouri, a special task force has been established to enforce much stricter regulations.
While efforts to reinforce legal marijuana markets take place, the use of marijuana has risen, with recent data indicating that around 18 million people used marijuana daily in 2022. Studies show that this number has most likely increased significantly over the last two years, and has already increased nearly twenty-fold since the early 1990s. This trend shows little sign of slowing and demonstrates a momentum toward continuing substantial change.
There have been many moments of backlash or movement against marijuana, such as the political pressure against Florida’s most recent legalization measures. However, there are many large trends across many arenas that show sustained, long-term movement toward acceptance, decriminalization, reclassification, and even legalization.
