Weed Was The True Winner Of Last Night’s Election
Donald Trump wasn’t the only winner last night.
Marijuana — a candidate we can all get behind — was legalized for recreational use in California, Nevada, Massachusetts, and Maine. These four states join Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and Washington D.C.
Although Cannabis is still banned on a federal level, this indicates a huge cultural shift against prohibition. 20% of Americans currently live in a State where marijuana is legal for recreational use, which is great because not only are we going to need it for the next four years, but marijuana prohibition costs tax payers $7.5 billion annually. Legalizing recreational marijuana use in Colorado, however, has saved millions, so it’s about time the rest of the United States started catching up.
Every six minutes, someone in the United States is arrested for marijuana and there are huge racial disparities in marijuana-related arrests. Black Americans are 3.73 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than White Americans, although their marijuana use is roughly the same. Prison time for marijuana offenders is often longer than that awarded to violent offenders. Legalizing marijuana reduces the ways in which we target minorities, and with so many states voting in favor of it, it seems like federal legalization is on the horizon.
Florida, Arkansas, North Dakota and Montana voted to legalize marijuana for medical use last night as well. 92% of patients already say it works to alleviate symptoms from chronic pain, arthritis, and cancer. So the total number of states that allow patients to find relief through weed is now: 29. Who said America wasn’t great?
