Voters in the states of New Jersey and Mississippi have given their approval to ballot questions regarding the legalization of cannabis use.
With 62 percent of precincts reporting in at 3:32 EST on November 4, 2020, 66.96 percent of New Jersey voters (1,728,626) had approved New Jersey Public Question 1, versus 33.04 percent (853,114) who opposed it, reports to Ballotpedia.
Voter approval of Public Question 1 amends Section VII of Article IV of the New Jersey Constitution and legalizes the possession and use of cannabis for adults over the age of 21, as well as cultivation, processing, and sales.
The text of the ballot question reads:
- Do you approve amending the Constitution to legalize a controlled form of marijuana called cannabis?
- Only adults at least 21 years of age could use cannabis. The State commission created to oversee the State’s medical cannabis program would also oversee the new, personal use cannabis market.
- Cannabis products would be subject to the State sales tax. If authorized by the Legislature, a municipality may pass a local ordinance to charge a local tax on cannabis products.
The Cannabis Regulatory Commission will oversee the new adult-use cannabis market.
The Commission was created in 2019 to oversee the New Jersey medical cannabis program, which began after Governor Jon Corzine (D) signed legislation on January 19, 2010.
Mississippi voters cast their ballots today to approve medical use cannabis with 74 percent approval of Initiative 65.
Under Initiative 65, patients with any of 22 medical conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, chronic pain, cancer, and epilepsy, can begin applying for medical cannabis cards during the summer of 2021 when the rules for the program are in place.
Initiative 65, which amends the state constitution, prohibits municipalities and counties from banning medical cannabis facilities, requiring them to be treated as licensed pharmacies.
The Mississippi State Department of Health would be responsible for the regulation and enforcement of the provisions of the amendment.
The rules of the amendment limit patients to 2.5 ounces of medical cannabis every two weeks and do not permit home growing.
