In the U.S., recreational marijuana is legal in several states like Colorado and Washington and medical marijuana has been legalized in many more. However, while the trend recently has been toward legalization, I still it’s going to take many years–if ever–before marijuana is completely legal for adult use in the entire country because the puritanical mindset is just too strong in many places. For example, Prohibition was lifted over 80 years ago but there are still many dry cities and counties in the US (especially in the Bible Belt). With that in mind, what terminology should be used to describe jurisdictions where marijuana is legal or illegal (i.e., the pot equivalent for “wet” and “dry”)?
We have been talking about where to live post retirement. Those states with the most liberal cannabis policies are called “possibilities”. At the other end of the spectrum are the “no way in hells”.
Not if Maine has anything to say about … which I’m betting is going to happen in the next few years. There’s already a petition for recreational usage floating around that should have the requisite number of signatures to make it to the ballot.
With its present governor, I would think any legalization or even any decriminalization efforts would be doomed to fail. In fact, from what I know about Governor LePage, it would seem more likely there’d be a crackdown on marijuana use in the state followed by a double-down on penalties for its possession and sale.
One might think; however we’re already into our 5th year (I think … can’t quite remember) of medical Marijuana without the governor’s interference and truth be told LePage doesn’t have as much power as he thinks. He’s probably the most unpopular governor we’ve had in a coon’s age. He may even be on the impeachment hook soon enough for screwing over one of his political rivals by withholding funds from a charter school unless they rescinded a job offer to said rival.
Either way I’m feeling pretty confident that pot will be legal here soon enough.
Maybe “open state” and “closed state” could acquire those meanings. With “med state” for the middle ones (no pun originally intended, but it seems like a good one).
As far as I know, and I’m fairly certain this is the case in all states that allow initiative petitions, they do not have to have the governor’s approval to become law. And while mj still may be illegal according to federal law, it is not the governor’s job to enforce those. He can only enforce the laws of his state.