NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Voters in Washington and Colorado passed ballot initiatives Tuesday to legalize marijuana for recreational use, the biggest victory ever for the legalization movement.
"The significance of these events cannot be understated," said NORML, a pro-legalization organization, in a news release. "Tonight, for the first time in history, two states have legalized and regulated the adult use and sale of cannabis."
But in many ways, it's just the beginning of the battle. Marijuana is still illegal in the eyes of the federal government, which overrules states' rights.
"The voters have spoken and we have to respect their will," said Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, in a statement. "This is a complicated process, but we intend to follow through. That said, federal law still says marijuana is an illegal drug ,so don't break out the Cheetos or goldfish too quickly."
The voter approval of legal weed in Colorado and Washington could lead to a Supreme Court battle with the federal government, according to Jeffrey Miron, senior lecturer of economics at Harvard University and a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, where he has conducted economic studies on nationwide drug legalization.
"[The feds] will do whatever they can to interfere with marijuana legalization in any state," Miron said on Tuesday, before the initiatives passed.
Related: Marijuana legalization on the ballot
Analysts had projected the Washington voters would approve their legalization ballot, because it proposes a heavy tax for marijuana that made the proposal attractive to budget hawks. The Washington initiative calls for a 25% tax rate imposed on the product three times: when the grower sells it to the processor, when the processor sells it to the retailer, and when the retailer sells it to the customer.
The Colorado approval was more of a surprise, since the polls were split ahead of the vote.
Voters shot down a third legalization referendum, in Oregon, which was expected. Analysts had projected that it wouldn't go through and criticized various aspects of the initiative, especially the fact that it would have handed most of the regulating power in the marijuana industry to the growers rather than independent overseers.
There were half a dozen marijuana referendums in total, with three of them proposing legalization for recreational purposes, and the others dealing with medical marijuana. Massachusetts voters approved a referendum legalizing medical marijuana, while Arkansas voters shot down a similar proposal. Montana voters approved a referendum to place restrictions on its existing medical marijuana laws.
My opinion is that there will be a lot of problems with marijuana legalizing. The Suprem Court will not allow this to happen. It is a big mistake.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that we should legalize marajuana. If we do the amount of marajuana will increase and there will be more people doing marajuana. If it is legalized it will be a lot easier to attain nad sell.
ReplyDeleteSean Weldon
well obviously it wil be easier to obtain and sell since it is leagal...i think that if you are that afraid you should look up some of the facts on marajuana and see for yourself any negative affects. I think this is a good thing and will help rekindle the economy as well as provide a lot of other benefits.
DeleteI think that this will be a very good thing. This will give the economy of that state a huge boost. I think that the federal government should respect the voter's opinions and make it legal for the states that voted it in
ReplyDeleteI bet this is going to cause conflict between the state and federal government. A possible supreme court battle may be around the corner
ReplyDeleteI think this is a big step in the national legalization of marijuana, but it will cause a whole lot a controversy. This is a major disagreement between the federal and state government which will be interesting to watch over the next few months.
ReplyDeleteI think that the legalization of weeds is whatever but somethings do scare me about it. I do not think that people are going to go crazy with it but there is always the chance. One thing i dont understnad is why people can buy cigs at 18 which are proven to cause diseases that can kill you, but you have to be 21 to buy weed.
ReplyDeleteI feel like this is going to go one of two ways: either that people are going to go overboard and abuse it by excessively using it or people are going to use it as it was intended and the legalization will go as it was supposed to. It all depends on the consumers. It might help to raise more money for the state though.
ReplyDeleteI think that by legalizing marijuana, the government of these states is simply washing their hands of a problem. Marijuana usage is already rampant, and now, without fear of legal reprecussions, usage will only become more commonplace, perhaps even more so than tobacco.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion the us waists thousands of dollers every year on the war on drugs, a war which we have failed. Further more there are negetive effects to smokaing anything but the effects of smoking weed are miniscule in comparison to alchahol or any hard drug.finally the 25% tax is great for the government, if nationally leagalized the government would make millions. This is a step forward for stoners, i only hope that they dont abuse it.
ReplyDeleteI think the federal government should respect the voters decision and legalize marijuana in Colorado. I know its not that easy though and the battle between the federal and state government will be fun to watch.
ReplyDeleteIt is only a matter of time before a battle breaks out between the state and federal courts. It is surprising that a state was able to pass such a controversial law right in front of the federal court. The legalization had always been a heated topic in state and federal courts and this legalization is only going to cause further conflict.
ReplyDeleteI think that this could be the open door for many other states to legalize marijuana. BUt it will always be a very controversial topic. The state and federal governments have different views on this topic so it will be interesting to see what happens going forward.
ReplyDelete-Popo
I am not a proponent of weed consumption. However, I believe that these referendums will bring in so much money, especially with the triple tax. The people that want this product will pay a large amount of money. I support these measures.
ReplyDeleteI think it was a good idea to legalize it because it will save a lot of money puting people in jail,fighting the problem, and it will make money because they are taxing it so much. I think this is going to cause a whole lot of problems and end up costing more then its worth.
ReplyDeleteAlex Colter
In my opinion, either people will abuse marijuana or people will just get used to the smokers. I expect a large immigration of stoners migrating to Colorado. There will always be a problem with weed. This will be a interesting outcome.
ReplyDeleteI think that legalizing weed is a mistake. Yes they will make money off of selling it but they did not think of the other aspect of it, dui's. How are they going to decide the legal amount you consumed to decide whether or not you can drive. They passes this bill without taking the safety of the roads into thought.
ReplyDeleteTommy Turner
Eventually I beleive weed will be allowed in all states because it is sucha money business that the government cant turn the oppportunity down. I dont know how much they would tax it or how they would sell it in stores but I believe eventually it will be allowed.
ReplyDeleteI don't necessarily think this a good thing. My cousin's life is ruined because of marijuana, and marijuana will not make America any smarter. I can hardly think about raising a family in a state where marijuana is sold openly to my kids. The future generations will think smoking marijuana is normal and not even think about the consequences. Smoking marijuana will cause healthcare to go up which means tax payers will have to pay for people who smoke weed all day and who do not support themselves. It doesn't matter if it raises money for the state or country; we shouldn't be making big decisions based on how much money it makes.
ReplyDeleteMaclain Edwards
I agree with garret that this will cause conflict between the state and federal government. I also, think that it will give a huge boost to the economy. I am interested to see how the results of legalization in these states compares to the legalization in other countries such as amsterdam.
ReplyDeleteI think that this is going to be an interesting situation because The federal government still says that it is illegal so I am just ready to see what goes down between the governments.
ReplyDelete-Kayla
The federal government's response to this development will be interesting to watch. The feds have power over Colorado and Washington, so their ruling will trump whatever the people in Colorado decide. I think we might as well legalize marijuana. People will smoke it anyway, we might as well tax it. It doesn't seem to be a horribly crippling drug, so we might as well use the tax revenue to balance the budget.
ReplyDelete-Peter Kolb
I think that its ok that marijuana is legal. There are far worse drugs on the streets. This could really help economy and provide jobs.
ReplyDeleteDERRICK MCLEAN
I dont think this is a good idea at all. I think it's pretty disappointing that people are so wrapped up and influenced by things like this. Just shows the lack of discipline people have these days, also shows how bad our economy is that we even need to think about legalizing a drug.
ReplyDeleteI believe that this is a very good thing all around. For the potheads and the government alike. The state government can tax the bejesus out marijuana and it will help them in the long-run. As for selling and distributing, I am quite interested to see how it is ran. The federal government will review and probably try to stop it, but that's not going to stop anyone from smoking pot. I'm just excited to see what happens from here on out. -- Ben Paulson
ReplyDeleteThere's is always going to be a problem in this society over marijuana. The federal government has always tried to keep the states from legalizing the usage of marijuana. However the people fire back with the necessity for medical marijuana. If the government continues to make boundaries on weed then there will always be in a tug of war on this subject.
ReplyDeleteThis debate will surely be heading for the Supreme Court soon. The Fed has the power over the states, so even though people in Colorado and Washington passed this into law, it will be highly contested in DC. Also, I feel that by legalizing marijuana, you will be causing problems still. Even if there is a %25 tax on it, yes the government will be making some money, but there will still be black markets for marijuana. This law isn't really going to solve anything and it still can be shot down by the government.
ReplyDeleteI really don't think that this is a good idea. It has been illegal for a reason and by leagalizing it now, they are going back on everything they have said for so long. I think that this will become a big problem between the state and federal government in the future.
ReplyDeleteThis will definitly be a battle for states rights in the coming months. Legalizing weed might not be the best decision, but int states that are broke and need the revenue to come from somewhere, the tax on weed could provide some of that money. Especially in Washington where it getting a 25 percent tax at each level.
ReplyDeletethis could be either good or bad. people arnt going to have to hide that they are smoking anymore, but those who do smoke will most likely abuse the privlidge and got over the top with this. the population of colorado should go up within the next few years because of this.
ReplyDelete