Which States Could be Next to Legalize Marijuana?

The marijuana industry has been fueled by the legislative measures that have occurred on a statewide basis over the past five or so years. In that time, we have seen a number of states allow for the use and sale of recreational cannabis. With so many states showing that there can be a lot of success for those willing to put in the right laws, it seems that many places around the nation have begun to follow suit.

Is America Ready For More Legal Marijuana

The most recent in the line of places to legalize cannabis has been Illinois. After a large overwhelming vote that affirmed the states desire to have weed legalized, Illinois will begin selling the substance as soon as the first of 2020. The bill will effectively allow those over the age of 21 to purchase and possess as much as 30 grams of marijuana. The state has also posed an excise tax, similar to the others that have done so, which will be 10% in products containing less than 35% THC and 25% on products that come with more THC inside them. The state has shown that they may be able to gain as much as $170 million in tax revenue during the first year of sales which is quite outstanding.

With Illinois and parts of the Midwest showing that cannabis can be successful, more eastern states such as New Jersey and New York have been working to put their version of legal cannabis forward as well. Many have stated that they believe these two states could be next on the list of those legalizing cannabis, but the reality is that they may have to wait until 2020 to put a vote forward to do so.

New Jersey has been working for some time with their governor Phil Murphy (D), to put forth a new bill that would allow the substance. After some pushback from the government, the bill did not receive the full support it needed to, to pass. The same story occurred in New York during the same time period, but it looks as though 2020 may be the year that it happens.

The state of Ohio may seem a bit random as far as legalizing cannabis, but they have been working to put it on the November ballot for this year. If the bill is approved and reviewed by state officials, those who are over the age of 21 would become eligible to buy cannabis within the state lines. This, of course, would be met with the normal excise tax, but this seems standard across the board.

All in all, the only issue that remains is that of fair legislation to reflect what the people would like moving forward. The next few years will remain extremely instrumental in seeing if legal cannabis can work in these various states around the U.S. Until that time, it seems as though we will have to gauge the success of the market in the states that currently have legal standing for the marijuana plant.