With today being 4/20, it is a good time to check in on the status of marijuana laws in the U.S. After decades of the war on drugs criminalizing simple possession, and arrests and prison sentences disproportionately impacting people of color, experiences with marijuana have been very different for Black and brown Americans compared to white users. But with shifting attitudes and changing laws, the era of marijuana-based police harassment and mass incarceration may be ending. Let’s look at the latest legal and political developments surrounding marijuana.
Medicinal marijuana is legal in most of the U.S.
According to the Mayo Clinic, active ingredients in marijuana such as THC and CBD are useful for treating pain, nausea and other symptoms of a variety of diseases and ailments, from Alzheimer’s to epilepsy to the side effects of cancer treatments. The international medical community has likewise endorsed the use of marijuana as a treatment, urging world governments to remove it from their lists of prohibited substances.
For years, the medicinal benefits of marijuana have been touted by cannabis advocates, a strategy that has been successful across the country. Beginning with California in 1996, a total of 37 states have authorized medical marijuana, as have Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. More than 3 million people have been prescribed medical marijuana for a variety of illnesses.
More and more states are legalizing recreational marijuana.
Beginning with Colorado in 2012, 18 of these states have decriminalized personal possession and use of marijuana, as have Washington, D.C., and Guam. These numbers do not include South Dakota, which voted to authorize recreational marijuana use in 2020 but had the decision struck down in court. In all the states where decriminalization has been implemented, personal possession and use of small amounts of marijuana are legal for residents 21 years old or older.
In states where marijuana sales are allowed, governing boards and strict standards regulate the industry. Most states that legalize possession also allow retail sales of marijuana, although selling still remains illegal in Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Guam. Some states that have authorized retail are just beginning to see marijuana sales.
New Mexico began sales this year, while legal weed will go on sale in New Jersey beginning Thursday, April 21. As Blavity previously reported, New York will see its first retailers come online later this year, with 100 of the first retail licenses set aside for people previously convicted of marijuana-related offenses under the state’s old drug laws.
Mainstreaming marijuana means major amounts of money.
In the decade since marijuana started to be decriminalized, the legal weed business has grown into a multibillion-dollar industry. Total revenue from marijuana sales in the U.S. hit $25 billion in 2021 and is projected to be as high as $33 billion this year. The industry also employs more than 500,000 people, a figure that is also expected to grow.
The large sums of money moving through the marijuana industry have also translated into significant revenue for states. States tend to impose significant taxes on the sale of marijuana. In Washington state, retail taxes on marijuana have been as high as 37%.
In 2021, states collected nearly $4 billion in taxes from the sale of recreational marijuana. This figure represents a third of the more than $11 billion that states have collected since 2014. States like Illinois and Massachusetts now collect more revenue from marijuana than from alcohol. In many states, this money is being used for public services like education or mental health care.
Movement toward national legalization has made progress.
In 2013, the U.S. Justice Department issued the Cole Memorandum, declaring that the federal government would not prosecute marijuana users or providers who were following the laws of their states. Although the amendment was later repealed by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions in 2018, the federal government has so far declined to interfere with state laws decriminalizing marijuana.
For years, progressives in Congress have pushed to decriminalize marijuana on a national level. As Blavity previously reported, the U.S. House of Representatives passed such legislation earlier this year, with several Republicans joining most of the House Democrats. Legalization now sits with the Senate, which intends to write its own version of the bill to legalize weed later this summer.
Even if the Senate ends up writing and voting on its own marijuana measure, legalization may still be an uphill battle. Most Democratic senators support legalization; even conservative Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., has supported state-level legalization. Nonetheless, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., has in the past stated his opposition to legalization, which would deny Democrats a majority of votes. However, if some Republicans join the effort, as happened in the House, a Senate bill authorizing cannabis could still pass.
Whether or not Congress ends federal prohibition on marijuana, most Americans now live in states where access to medical or recreational marijuana is now legal. These numbers are poised to grow as more states authorize cannabis and sales continue to bring in billions for local economies and governments. At this point, legalization across the country appears to be a matter of time.
