Voters in some of the most conservative states to weigh in on recreational pot

Voters in five states, including four that are among the most conservative in the country, are deciding on whether to legalize recreational marijuana this election. If passed in each state, Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota would join 19 other states and the District of Columbia where cannabis has already been legalized for personal use.

All except Maryland backed Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, underscoring that the legalization effort increasingly spans the political spectrum and is even gaining support in some of the most overwhelmingly Republican parts of the nation.

A recent poll from Monmouth University shows 68% of the American public supports legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use. The support crosses gender, age, income and education differences, polling shows. In addition to the 19 states that have legalized personal recreational use, 37 states now allow pot for medical purposes.

“The more people learn about cannabis and cannabis policy, the more we see them support making cannabis legal and regulating it and treating it like alcohol,” says Mason Tvert a partner at the marijuana policy and public affairs firm VS Strategies. “This is an issue that is broadly supported by Americans of all political stripes, conservatives and progressives,” he says.

[Read more at NPR]