New Jersey, Mississippi, and South Dakota will all have cannabis measures on the November 2020 ballot.

New Jersey

Announced in December, residents of New Jersey will be voting on a constitutional amendment to legalize recreational marijuana. This ballot initiative was made possible by New Jersey's Senate and its Assembly, voting 24-16 and 49-24, respectively, to allow the state's residents to decide the future business of cannabis in the state. The question that'll be appearing on New Jerseyans ballots: Do you approve amending the Constitution to legalize a controlled form of marijuana called "cannabis"? New Jersey’s medical cannabis program would oversee and regulate the cannabis market. A municipality may pass a local ordinance to charge a local tax on cannabis products.

Last March, New Jersey lawmakers had agreed on a number of legalization aspects, including taxation. However, a proposal was ultimately thwarted by some lawmakers pushing for an expungement clause.

Mississippi

The state of Mississippi will be voting on medicinal marijuana this fall. A little over 86,000 signatures were required to get Initiative Measure 65 on the ballot, but nearly 106,000 signatures of the more than 214,000 signatures submitted were deemed valid. The question on the ballot will read, “Should Mississippi allow qualified patients with debilitating medical conditions, as certified by Mississippi licensed physicians, to use medical marijuana?” If approved, Measure 65 would allow Mississippi to create a medical marijuana program that would treat patients with a "debilitating medical condition." Initially, there would be about 20 conditions listed as qualifying, such as cancer and Parkinson's disease, albeit the Mississippi Department of Health would be allowed to add to the list of debilitating medical conditions if it sees fit.

South Dakota

The State of South Dakota is going to become the first ever to vote on both medicinal and recreational use cannabis initiatives in the same election. Similar to Mississippi, South Dakota has not legalized any form of cannabis use or sales. The first ballot initiative is Measure 26, which would create a medical marijuana program in South Dakota that would be overseen by the Department of Health. Individuals would need to have a debilitating medical condition to qualify for a medical cannabis prescription from a licensed physician. South Dakotans will also be voting on Constitutional Amendment A, which would legalize recreational marijuana in the state, and tax adult-use sales at 15%. Additionally, it would require the South Dakota Legislature to create and pass regulations for medical marijuana and hemp programs by no later than April 1, 2022. Since no other states has attempted to pass a dual legalization measure before, stay tuned to see how this all unfolds in cannabis history.

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