Election 2022: Marijuana legalization results and live coverage

Arkansas poll predicts loss for legalization

No easy way to spin this one: The Arkansas Poll, taken by a team at the University of Arkansas, predicts a significant loss for that state’s legalization measure. Previous polls have shown a tight 50-50 race, but this new poll found that 60% of voters oppose Issue 4.

The one bright spot: The average age of respondents to the survey was 63. As a rule, the older the age demographic the less likely a voter is to support legalization.

In Maryland: Already preparing for a legal market?

One week prior to Election Day, the Maryland House of Delegates’ Cannabis Referendum and Legalization work group reviewed a report on the state’s potential legal industry. In other words, they’re getting prepared for Question 4 to pass.

As Maryland Matters reporter William J. Ford noted, “if voters approve legalization by voting for Question 4, more work would have to be done, such as altering civil and criminal cannabis-related penalties, establishing a fund to assist small and minority-owned businesses and establishing a health advisory council to assess, study and promote public health campaigns on cannabis.”

“We know that the cannabis industry is a profitable industry,” said Mathew Swinburne, the report’s author. “This is a new industry that is filled with economic opportunity and that opportunity is only growing,” he told Maryland Matters. “Although this industry presents some significant economic opportunities, communities of color are missing out on this cannabis boom.”

Rick Steves, legalization hero

Every two years Rick Steves, the PBS travel show star, donates significant amounts of his own cash and copious chunks of time to campaign for legalization measures on the ballot. Partnering with NORML, he barnstorms state to state to appear on the local TV and radio stations that actually reach undecided voters. Rick Steves opens minds and changes votes.

Here’s a clip of him in action recently in North Dakota.