Grass in the law: how the status of marijuana in the USA has changed in 2020

Since the beginning of this year, the use of marijuana for recreation has become legal in only one state - Illinois. Other states may follow suit during the course of 2020; several more states intend to include recreational marijuana on the ballot. At the federal level, cannabis is still considered an illegal substance, writes CNBS.

Фото: Depositphotos

According to a CBS News Poll survey, in 2019, support for legal cannabis reached a new high. 65% of adult Americans said marijuana should be legal. And, for the first time in a CBS News poll, most Republicans (56%) favored legal marijuana. While people 65 years of age and older continued to least support the legalization of marijuana - 45% in the 2019 survey.

This trend has been reflected in state legislatures. As a result, thirty-three states legalized marijuana in one form or another, according to the National State Legislature Conference. Since 2012, when Colorado and Washington became the first two states to legalize the recreational use of cannabis, only 11 states have legalized recreational marijuana.

Marijuana is currently approved for recreational use in Alaska, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia. On January 1, 2020, Illinois became the 11th state to legalize recreational marijuana.

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Illinois is now the second Midwestern state after Michigan in 2018, which legalized the sale and use of marijuana for recreation.

What to expect

It is likely that several states will vote for recreational use of marijuana in 2020, while others are drafting similar laws.

Florida

According to surveys, more than 65 percent of Florida voters "want to increase access to cannabis for 21-year-olds and older."

However, this milestone seems to be trapped. On Tuesday, December 31, 2019, Make It Legal sued the state, claiming that the new election law imposed restrictions on the voting initiative process, which limited their ability to collect signatures. The state has confirmed 219 signed petitions from Make It Legal - only 290% of the total number of signatures required by the February 28 deadline.

Minnesota

Democrats in the state are preparing a law on marijuana, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune. House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (D) travels around the state with this issue, trying to prepare a bill in February.
The Republican-controlled Senate, however, offers little chance of success, as key conservative leaders are still against legalization.

New York

Last year was unsuccessful for legislative activity on the legalization of marijuana in Empire State.

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Despite the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo, measures to legalize marijuana for adults were unsuccessful. Lawmakers have reduced ownership from an administrative offense to a fine, but according to the New York Police Department, people who have drugs in excess of two ounces can still be arrested.

New Jersey

According to the Associated Press, the state will vote for the legalization of recreational marijuana in November 2020. If the measure passes, residents of New Jersey from the age of 21 will be allowed to use cannabis for relaxation. All cannabis sales will be subject to sales tax of 6,625%.

Virginia

Virginia Attorney General Marc Herring called for “immediate decriminalization” of small portions of marijuana and organized a cannabis summit in December to inform state leaders what steps should be taken to achieve this.

This bill may receive the necessary support, since the Senate is now controlled by Democrats, who are inclined to support.

According to the WTVR, one marijuana bill submitted to the 2020 state session, SB 2, would decriminalize marijuana possession and increase the amount of marijuana allowed from half an ounce to one.

California

On January 1, 2020, two new laws entered into force in California that clarify tax laws related to the state’s legitimate cannabis industry.
Senate Bill No. 34 allows licensed cannabis retailers to donate cannabis to low-income patients and exempts these products from taxes.

Assembly Bill 37 allows cannabis plants to claim deductions and loans available to other legitimate businesses in the state.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed those bills into law but "reluctantly" vetoed another cannabis bill that would have required some medical facilities to allow terminally ill patients to use medical cannabis. In a message explaining his decision, Newsom wrote that the requirement would put Medicaid and Medicare patients at risk of losing coverage.

Is legalization possible at the federal level in 2020?

Since cannabis is still considered an illegal substance at the federal level, most banks are not allowed to do business with marijuana companies. To overcome this obstacle, lawmakers have enacted the Banking Security and Fair Enforcement Act (SAFE), which will protect banks that partner with cannabis plants.

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The law was enacted by a Democratic-led House, but is expected to fail in the Senate after Republican chairman Mike Krapo expressed strong opposition in December.

The same fate probably awaits the federal legalization of cannabis.

In November, the Judicial Committee of the House of Representatives approved a bill that would decriminalize federal marijuana. The Marijuana Reinvestment and Empowerment Act of 2019, or the MORE Act. Now his chances are higher in a Democratic-controlled chamber than in a Republican-controlled Senate, where the future of the bill is uncertain.

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