Ohio Greenlights Recreational Pot – Who’s Next in Line?
Ohio voters gave the green light to recreational marijuana when they voted in favor of a ballot initiative this past November. Voters can now say they made their state the 24th in the nation with state-legal recreational pot. They will not be the last. In fact, the only real question is who is next in line.
People who follow this sort of thing expect recreational marijuana initiatives on the ballots next year in Florida, Idaho, Nebraska, and South Dakota. I will go on record by saying that I live in one of those states. And while I am fully in favor of medical cannabis, I don’t think legalized recreational pot is a good idea.
My personal views on recreational marijuana are likely to be meaningless next November. I fully expect to wake up the morning after election day to discover that my fellow state residents have approved the pot measure. I will have to live with it. But that does not mean I will have to agree with my neighbors or even help promote recreational marijuana.
Still a Mixed Bag
While just under half of the states now allow recreational marijuana and nearly four-dozen have given approval to medical cannabis, the broader picture of marijuana in the U.S. remains a mixed bag. Some states are more liberal than others. Some allow both medical and recreational consumption while others only medical. A small handful still do not allow marijuana in any form.
Colorado and Washington are examples of the most liberal marijuana states. Both have placed very few restrictions on the recreational market. Even their medical markets are not as heavily restricted as states like Utah, where medical cannabis is okay but recreational pot is still off the table.
Restrictions in the Medical Market
Utah restricts medical cannabis to the point that there are only 15 cannabis pharmacies serving the entire state. Beehive Farmacy is one of them. They actually operate two locations: one in Brigham City and the other in Salt Lake City. State lawmakers have no intention of approving additional pharmacy licenses in the near future.
Oklahoma has taken the opposite approach to medical cannabis distribution. There are thousands of dispensaries throughout the state. In fact, some would argue that there are too many. Oklahomans seem to have more options than they know what to do with.
Meanwhile, In Washington
While the states are all doing their own thing in relation to marijuana legalization, federal lawmakers cannot seem to make up their minds one way or another. Paying attention to what is happening in Washington can cause a roller coaster of emotions among people who follow legalization efforts.
One day lawmakers appear as though they are ready to pass legalization bills and send them to the president’s desk. The next day, they seem to be stuck on maintaining the status quo. Just since Joe Biden took office, Senator Chuck Schumer has made multiple promises to get a legalization bill to the floor only to fail at every turn. So you never really know when it comes to Washington.
My feeling is that every state choosing to legalize recreational marijuana brings us one step closer to national legalization. It may take another 5-10 years, but I believe every state will eventually go legal. It will be awfully hard at that point for federal lawmakers to continue any meaningful resistance. Doing so would be futile, to borrow from the Borg Collective of Star Trek fame.
Ohio has upped the ante by becoming the latest state to legalize recreational pot. Shall we take bets on the next state to join the party?