Americans are heading to the polls today to vote for the highest office in the land — and in a few states they might walk away with a chance to get a little high themselves.
Ballot referendums in Florida, North Dakota and South Dakota are asking voters whether they want to legalize recreation use of weed — meaning some of the last holdouts in the country to ban wacky-tobaccy may finally be going green.
Nebraska, one of just six states that does not even allow medical marijuana, has a pair of ballot measures that would allow doctors to prescribe weed.
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Recreational marijuana is legal in 24 states — just under half the country — while 20 have partially legalized it for medicinal purposes.
A few states, like Nebraska and North Carolina, still ban pot, but have decriminalized it.
And then there’s Massachusetts — which voted for legal marijuana in 2016 and is now looking to take things a step further.
Now, voters there are being asked to whether to legalize psychedelics like magic mushrooms.
Below are those states’ current statuses and propositions.
Florida
Medical marijuana is already legal in Florida, but Amendment 3 would legalize recreational use.
Amendment 3 would also allow state-licensed entities to produce and sell marijuana products for recreational use by people 21 or over.
The state’s medical marijuana business is already massive — estimated to be worth more than $2 billion annually — but Gov. Ron DeSantis is staunchly opposed to legalizing it for recreational use.
DeSantis has argued the amendment in its current form would not benefit the average taxpayer, but would instead line the pockets of one major Florida weed company — Trulieve — while leaving Floridians with little power over the new laws, the Tallahassee Democrat reported.
Former president Donald Trump — a Florida resident — said he will support Amendment 3, part of his pivot to embrace of legal weed in the 2024 election.
Nebraska
One of the last holdouts to fully ban marijuana in the country, Nebraska’s Initiative Measures 437 and 438 would allow the state to dip its toes into legalization for medical use.
Initiative Measure 437 would allow medical use with a note from a doctor or other health care provider, while 438 would legalize production and distribution of weed products for medical purposes.
If passed, 438 would also create an industry regulatory agency, the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission.
Marijuana is already decriminalized in Nebraska, meaning first offenses for possession of small amounts will not result in charges.
North Dakota
The Peace Garden State already allows medical use of marijuana. Tuesday’s Initiative Measure 5 proposes to expand legalization to recreational use.
If passed, Initiative Measure 5 would legalize using marijuana products for people 21 and over, along with allowing the production and sale of products for recreational use.
A state agency would also be established to regulate the industry.
South Dakota
While South Dakota has legalized medical marijuana, legal recreational weed has been a fraught issue.
In 2020 South Dakotans voted to legalize it — but Gov. Kristi Noem challenged the ruling until it was struck down by the state’s Supreme Court, with a judge ruling that it violated a constitutional requirement that amendments dealing with just one subject not propose widespread changes to government.
The question returned to the ballot again in 2022, but was voted down — 53% to 47%.
Tuesday’s vote will be the third time the state has voted on recreational marijuana in three election cycles.
Massachusetts
Marijuana is fully legal in Massachusetts — so the state is setting its sights on expanding access to other drugs.
Question 4 would allow adults to use “certain natural psychedelic substances in certain circumstances” — meaning things like magic mushrooms could be used, and grown at home, by people 21 and up.
It would also allow for approved vendors to produce and sell the products.
Included among the allowed substances would psilocyn and psilocybin — which give magic mushrooms their properties — along with ibogaine, mescaline, and dimethyltryptamine, three other plant-based substances.
Colorado and Oregon are currently the only states to legalize psychedelics.
