Beltway Briefing Podcast
Special Episode: Cannabis Legalization
April 17, 2021
In 2012, voters in Colorado and Washington made their states the first in the country to pass measures legalizing cannabis. At the time, 51% of registered voters polled said they supported legalization. On March 31 and April 7, 2021, New York and Virginia became the 15th and 16th state, respectively, to legalize adult-use cannabis for residents 21 and older. And a recent survey indicates that support for legalizing marijuana use in the U.S. is the highest it has ever been, as roughly seven in 10 adults surveyed recently said that marijuana use should be legal. Public Strategies’ multi-state cannabis team – including Mark Alderman, Patrick Martin, Ashley Allen, and Jamie Ansorge, discuss the rapid pace of cannabis law changes across the U.S. and provide an overview of the current legalization status by state – beginning with Illinois, New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. N.B. Under federal law, the use and possession of cannabis in the U.S. is illegal, by way of the Controlled Substances Act of 1970.
