Here are the highlights of results that bear on some of the issues closest to Filter:
Michigan voted to legalize marijuana; North Dakota said no.
Michigan became the 10th US state--and the first in the Midwest--to legalize marijuana. Michigan's Proposal 1 will legalize the recreational possession and use of marijuana for people over the age of 21, as well as excising a tax on marijuana sales. People in Michigan will be allowed to grow a certain amount of marijuana in their homes and the state will regulate and tax commercial marijuana sales.
However, North Dakota voted no on Measure 3, which would have legalized the use, possession, sale and growth of marijuana for adults over the age of 21, though it had no regulatory framework for marijuana businesses. The measure would also have established an automatic expungement process for people with convictions related to a controlled substance that is subsequently legalized.
Two states--Missouri and Utah--voted to legalize medical marijuana.
Missouri voted yes on Amendment 2, one of three slightly different initiatives to legalize medical marijuana. Seth Ferranti recently reported for Filter that Amendment 2 looked like the preferred choice in the state. Voters said no to Amendment 3, the most restrictive of the measures, which would have instituted a 15 percent tax, and to Proposition C, which would have instituted a two percent tax. Amendment 2 institutes a a four percent tax, with the revenue dedicated to health care services for veterans.
Utah's Proposition 2 will legalize medical marijuana, though the vote may be largely symbolic since state legislators are planning to pass a different model for getting medical cannabis to Utah patients.
