If Most Americans Support Legalization, Why Did Some Measures Fail?

Despite voters shooting down legalization measures in Arkansas, North Dakota, and South Dakota, comprehensive surveys still show that the majority of citizens do support legalization, even if they did not support the specific initiatives that were before them.

There are many factors why legalization measures in those states didn’t pass this time. For one, it’s an increasingly bipartisan issue. Someone may support legalization, but they support their political party more, and so vote according to party lines.

Another important reason is who are the people who are actually getting out there and doing the voting. Records show that older, conservative, Republicans are the most likely to show up and vote, especially during the mid term elections. And that demographic is the least likely to support cannabis legalization measures.

Also, as usual, cannabis opponents mounted serious campaigns to try to persuade voters against legalization measures. Some advocates have said that donations from national cannabis companies have been focusing more of their contributions on federal reform, and not as much towards other elections.

And while these legalization defeats can be discouraging for some cannabis advocates and fans, it’s worth recognizing that not all measures are necessarily the most beneficial for the industry or consumers. What this means is that sometimes cannabis advocacy groups themselves can also campaign against legalization measures. This may be due to the way legislation is written, and differing opinions on what is or is not the correct way to reach legalization. They may all want and work towards eventual legalization, but the path they feel is best can differ, and thus, certain measures can fall by the wayside for now, while new measures are written for future votes. Legislatures and advocates can disagree about measures based on such as things like licensing, equity, expungements, tax rates, revenue distribution, home grow rights and more.

​These kinds of policy disputes were issues in several states during this past mid term election. And while consumers and businesses may be frustrated by delays, it’s important to understand these reasons behind legalization measures failing, so that changes can be made to get them passed next time.