Editor's Note: This Huffington Post article by our industry's own Marijuana Policy Project Executive Director Rob Kampia provides a great look at what we can expect to see in the near future. And the fact that Huffington Post published an article by Rob demonstrates, yet again, how mainstream the topic of marijuana is becoming to our nation. Great read:
In the wake of the big election victories on November 4, many people are asking, "What's next for the push to legalize marijuana in the United States?"
It generally falls into four buckets:
1. Legalizing Marijuana for Adults in 11 More States and D.C.
Measures to regulate marijuana like alcohol have now passed in Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington. All four states did so via the ballot initiative process.
The state that will most likely be next to legalize is Rhode Island, which would be the first to do so via state legislature. Also this spring, the District of Columbia is expected to enact a similar law through its city council.
There's also a real opportunity to legalize marijuana through five more state legislatures between now and 2017 -- Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, New Hampshire, and Vermont. There will also be serious legislative activity in other states, such as New York, but it is less clear when such legislation will pass.
