ballot initiatives

Members of a campaign funded by Mormon attorney Walter J. Plumb filed a lawsuit in Utah state court on Wednesday in an attempt to remove a measure legalizing medical cannabis from the November ballot, according to a Salt Lake Tribune report. The ballot measure would legalize cannabis use for only specific chronic illnesses like cancer and HIV, […]

North Dakota voters will get their chance to vote on adult-use cannabis legalization this November, according to the Associated Press. Cannabis advocates collected and submitted more than 14,600 valid voter signatures in favor of the ballot initiative, said North Dakota Secretary of State Al Jaeger. They only needed 13,500. The proposal seeks to legalize cannabis for […]

Missouri voters will get to choose from three different medical cannabis legalization initiatives this November, according to the Bolivar Herald Free Press. Two of the initiatives are constitutional amendments and the third is a statutory amendment. Petition 2018-041 is a constitutional amendment that would: Legalize and regulate the use of cannabis for medical purpose Create licensing […]

Oklahoma advocacy group Green The Vote has admitted to lying about the number of signatures they’ve collected to put a cannabis legalization question before voters. The revelation was made via Facebook video early on Tuesday, and confirmed in a follow-up video by Isaac Caviness, long-time president of Green The Vote. The group announced last month […]

A 58-person steering committee, including many prominent conservatives, announced a campaign to put a voter initiative for the legalization of medical cannabis on the 2020 Mississippi state ballot, Mississippi Today reports. The campaign, “Medical Marijuana 2020,” was officially registered by Ashley Durval, who made headlines in 2014 when she fought for her daughter’s right to access CBD […]

Oklahoma Secretary of State James Williamson said on Monday that the chances of voters seeing the state’s adult-use legalization question on November’s ballot are very slim, according to a Tulsa World report. In fact, advocates have prepared two separate cannabis initiatives for the ballot. The first, State Question 796, would codify legal medical marijuana into the Oklahoma Constitution […]

In Michigan — where, in November, voters will both elect a new governor and decide whether to legalize adult-use cannabis — governor candidates are sharply divided along party lines over the issue of cannabis legalization, according to a Michigan Radio report. There are four Republicans, three Democrats, and two Libertarians currently in the gubernatorial race; the Republicans have […]

The Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter has advised the state’s Board of Health that emergency rules passed last week regarding medical cannabis, including a complete ban on smokable products, is against the will of voters and outside the Board’s authority, according to KOCO 5 report. The Board’s decision was controversial and resulted in the immediate resignation […]

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) ratified strict emergency medical cannabis rules on Wednesday, flouting voters’ wishes on the issue, SF Gate reports. The rules were drafted by the governor’s appointees on the state Board of Health at an emergency meeting on Tuesday. The rules ban smokable cannabis and require pharmacists at all dispensaries. Medical cannabis advocates […]

North Dakota advocates have successfully submitted enough signatures in favor of adult-use cannabis legalization to put the issue on November’s ballot, the Bismarck Tribune reports. Advocates submitted some 18,700 signatures to the Secretary of State’s office on Monday; they needed a total of 13,452 signatures to put the issue before voters. “The measure legalizes the use, sale, possession, […]

Hot on the heels of Oklahoma‘s successful medical cannabis vote, advocates in the state are collecting signatures to put adult-use legalization on the November ballot, Oklahoma’s News 4 reports. The initiative, State Question 797, would allow adults who are 21 or older to possess, use, grow, process, and sell cannabis for recreational purposes. Advocates with ‘Green the […]

Oklahoma voters will decide on Tuesday whether to pass State Question 778 (SQ778), which would open the door to medical cannabis access across the state, according to a NORML news release. SQ778 — which would let doctors recommend and prescribe medical cannabis for any condition, using their discretion — has been praised by cannabis advocates for allowing doctors, […]

The Michigan Legislature has decided to pass on Tuesday, June 5th’s midnight deadline to act on a voter initiative to legalize adult-use cannabis, the Detroit Free Press reports. Senate Republicans had wanted to take up and pass the measure before it was put on November’s ballot in order to immediately amend the language of the […]

According to a Michigan Radio report, advocates from the “Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol” say they are watching closely as the deadline approaches for legislative action on the state’s cannabis legalization issue. Tuesday, June 5th is the deadline for the legislature to decide whether to approve the petition and write it into law or leave […]

Medical cannabis opponents in Utah have filed an emergency motion to block the ballot initiative from November ballots, the Associated Press reports. The plaintiffs of the lawsuit argue that the proposal, organized by the Utah Patients Coalition, would break federal law. The lawsuit, filed by Drug Safe Utah, names Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox as the […]

A Michigan anti-cannabis legalization group has indicated that they would be open to cannabis legalization if the reforms were passed by the Legislature, the Detroit Free Press reports. The Committee to Keep Pot out of Neighborhoods and Schools has conceded that legalization “will be a reality” in the state but hopes legislative action will create […]

The Ohio Ballot Board has certified the ballot initiative to legalize cannabis for recreational use in the state, the Dayton Daily News reports. The group behind the initiative, Ohio Families for Change, now must collect 305,591 valid signatures from 44 of the state’s 88 counties – and, within each county, the group must collect enough signatures […]

A Michigan State University Institute for Public Policy and Social Research poll has found 61 percent support for cannabis legalization in the state, with 34 percent opposed and 5 percent undecided. Cannabis legalization was the only issue on the poll with fewer than 15 percent undecided. Pollsters found support lags among Michiganders 65-and-older. Just 30 […]

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has certified that the language for a proposed recreational cannabis ballot initiative is “fair and truthful” – the first step toward putting the issue on the ballot, according to a Cleveland.com report. The proposal moves next to the Ohio Ballot Board which will determine whether the measure is one or […]

Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill has indicated he will vote in favor of the ballot initiative to legalize medical cannabis in Utah, the Deseret News reports. The support comes as Gov. Gary Herbert and the Utah Medical Association strongly oppose the reforms. “This is not about recreational marijuana, that is not what I […]

Republican lawmakers in Michigan are considering tying recreational cannabis legalization to a bill to cut the state’s income tax amid fears that having the issue on November’s ballot will drive voter turnout, especially among young voters who tend to vote Democrat, the Detroit Free Press reports. The Republicans working on the plan to cut the […]

Advocates in Idaho have stopped collecting signatures for the ballot initiative to legalize medical cannabis in the state and the group behind the effort, the Idaho Medical Marijuana Association, has dissolved, according to a Spokesman-Review report. The organization’s president, Tesla Gillespie, said the group wasn’t sufficiently organized or funded to collect enough signatures. Gillespie said […]

Advocates in Oklahoma have received state approval to begin collecting signatures for a ballot initiative asking voters whether to legalize both medical and recreational cannabis in November, according to a KOKH. The measure would add legalization to the state constitution, rather than as a law, which would also need to be codified by the state […]

Michigan voters will have the opportunity to legalize cannabis for adult use this November after the State Board of Canvassers approved the petition launched by the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. What’s in the initiative: Create a taxed and regulated recreational cannabis system, allowing adults 21-and-older to possess and consume cannabis. Legalization of industrial […]