ALL CHANGE ON THE
East Coast
Connecticut is not the only state on the East Coast eyeing
up cannabis reform. 2020 could see states across the region
embracing a commercial legal market.
Florida
New York
Governor Cuomo introduced his
cannabis legalization proposal in
January. The bill includes provisions
to restrict access to adults aged 21
and over, strict quality and safety
measures and ‘social equity licensing
opportunities’ to encourage an
egalitarian market.
Vermont
Florida looked all set to vote on full
legalization in the 2020 election. But
Make It Legal Florida announced in
January that was unable to collect
the 766,200 signatures to amend the
ballot. The campaign collected 700,000
signatures but was unable to verify
them in time for the deadline.
Low-level possession and home cultivation
were legalized in July 2018. But Republican
Governor Phil Scott previously said that he
was reluctant to introduce a commercial
market due to the potential for cannabis
to impair driving. But Scott is now said to
be ‘at the table’ as lawmakers push for a
bill to tax and regulate the market.
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Pennsylvania
New Jersey
A legalization measure was pulled in
March 2019 due to lack of support,
leading Democratic governor Phil
Murphy to put the issue to the 2020
ballot. More than 60% of New Jersey
adults support legalization, according
to a 2019 poll, so hopes at the 2020
election referendum are positive.
Governor Tom Wolf supports
legalization. However, Senate Bill 350 is
unlikely to receive GOP support from
a Republican-controlled Senate. Wolf
believes it would be more realistic in the
short term to focus on decriminalization
and developing an expungement
process for cannabis convictions.