Support for marijuana grows: see the latest states to legalize

As voters in more U.S. states this month legalized recreational marijuana use, longtime pot-friendly Oregon became the first state to decriminalize possession of small amounts of other drugs — including heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine.

Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman said he thinks Pennsylvania should be a leader in drug reform, expressing support for the Oregon referendum decriminalizing the possession and personal use of small amounts of all drugs — a measure that passed on Election Day.

“We have tried the war on drugs, and it has been a miserable failure,” said Fetterman, an advocate for legalizing recreational marijuana use in the Keystone State. “You cannot arrest your way out of addiction.”

Oregon in 1973 became the first state to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use. Soon, that protection will extend to possession of most drugs. People found with small amounts of drugs will be treated similarly to receiving a traffic ticket rather than face jail time, CNN reported. The measure, which passed with nearly 56% of voter support, also includes better access to addiction treatment and other health services.

Voters in four states — Arizona, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota — voted Nov. 3 to legalize recreational marijuana, while Mississippi legalized the drug for medical use.

That brings the total number of states allowing recreational cannabis to 15. Pennsylvania, New York and 19 other states allow medical marijuana, leaving only 14 states that ban cannabis outright.

Industry members and analysts believe this groundswell of support could accelerate efforts to legalize recreational pot in the remaining 35 states, CNN Business reported.

Fetterman, the former mayor of Braddock, said New Jersey’s referendum could speed legalization in Pennsylvania.

“Forty percent of our population is going to be a 20- or 30-minute drive from a Candy Land of legal marijuana in New Jersey,” he said. “Why on Earth would we want that revenue, those jobs, that criminal justice reform, that freedom, to be only in New Jersey? And then New York is going to legalize it, and we’re going to be boxed in.”

Gov. Tom Wolf has called for the Pennsylvania Legislature to legalize recreational marijuana, though with little progress to show for it so far.

The stances of Republican leadership in Harrisburg have ranged from actively against the proposal to lukewarm on the prospect.

A recent Gallup poll found 68% of Americans support legal marijuana — the highest percentage ever recorded, according to cannabis advocacy group NORML. Gallup first asked about marijuana legalization in 1969, when only 12% of Americans supported the idea.

Marijuana remains a Schedule I controlled substance, according to the federal government. That is the most tightly controlled and regulated form of illegal drug, on par with heroin.

This has made it difficult — though not impossible — for marijuana-related businesses to operate. It means the federal government could, in theory, charge members of the marijuana industry with federal crimes despite their activity being legal at the state level.

In practice, this has not happened. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has said it will not pursue marijuana-related charges against growers and businesses.