Cannabis reform is becoming a campaign issue in the U.S.
Cannabis reform is emerging as a major issue ahead of the U.S. midterm elections, which will take place on November 3. In Massachusetts and Idaho, voters will consider initiatives related to legalization or restrictions on it, while in Kansas and Iowa, the issue of cannabis has become a topic of debate among gubernatorial candidates, according to CNBC.
According to Gallup data released in November, 64% of American adults believe that marijuana use should be legal. At the same time, support for legalization among Republicans has dropped by 13 percentage points over the past year—from 53% to 40%. Among Democrats, support stands at 85%, and among independent voters, it is 66%.
Cannabis remains illegal at the federal level and is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance. In April, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed an order to reclassify state-licensed medical marijuana to Schedule III. According to CNBC, this is expected to ease restrictions on research and reduce the tax burden on companies in the legal cannabis market, which is estimated at $30 billion.
For more breaking news, follow the UA.News Telegram channel.
Not all Republicans support the initiative to change the classification. More than 20 Republican senators and several members of the House of Representatives have appealed to the White House to halt the reclassification. Democrats in Congress have called it a partial solution and last month reintroduced the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, which would remove cannabis from the federal list of controlled substances.
In Idaho, an amendment will be put to a vote that would grant the state legislature exclusive authority to ban ballot initiatives regarding marijuana, narcotics, and psychoactive substances. In Massachusetts, the initiative calls for maintaining the medical cannabis program but repealing the legalization of recreational sales and cultivation, which was approved in 2016. A University of New Hampshire poll released in February showed that 63% of Massachusetts voters oppose this initiative.
In Kansas, Democratic candidate Cindy Holscher supports the legalization of recreational cannabis, while her Republican opponent, Ty Masterson, opposes it. In Iowa, Democrat Rob Sand has announced a plan to legalize, tax, and regulate cannabis for adults, while Republican Zach Lan does not support such legalization.
