The 2024 elections include a raft of ballot measures across every state. Voters will be asked to mark their preference on controversial topics such as abortion, school choice, the legalization of drugs, and much more. This Washington Examiner series, Direct Democracy, will take a forensic look at several of these items. Previous installments covered measures on abortion, minimum wages, school choice, and voting laws. Part 5 focuses on measures related to legalizing drugs.

Five states have drug legalization referendums on the ballot this election season, making next week critical for the future of illicit drug policy across the country.

Thirty-eight out of 50 states have legalized medical marijuana, while 24 have authorized it for recreational use as well. Florida, North Dakota, and South Dakota have initiatives on the ballot this year, and, if passed, a majority of states would allow for the recreational use of cannabis.

Also, Nebraska is weighing two interrelated amendments that would legalize medical marijuana, often seen as a stepping stone for recreational legalization.

At the federal level, cannabis is still classified as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, determined to have no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Other Schedule I drugs include heroin, ecstasy, and peyote, and federal charges for possession or intent to distribute Schedule I drugs can be severe.

This spring, the Drug Enforcement Agency made a historic move to begin the process of reclassifying marijuana to a Schedule III drug, on par with ketamine and certain anabolic steroids. President Joe Biden was the first in the White House to call for a review of federal marijuana laws in 2022.

Both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump favor some degree of marijuana legalization. While Trump has emphasized a states’ rights approach to the issue, Harris has pledged to federally legalize cannabis.

Massachusetts is the only state this year with a ballot initiative to legalize the use and possession of certain psychedelic drugs, including mushrooms and plants. If passed, Massachusetts would join Colorado and Oregon as the only three states that allow for the recreational use of psychedelics.

Here is everything you need to know about the proposed policies in each state.

Florida

A ballot measure in Florida, Amendment 3, would legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older, allowing people to possess up to 85 grams of marijuana or five grams of concentrate.

Amendment 3 would authorize existing medical marijuana treatment centers to sell marijuana for personal use as well, and the state legislature can provide state law licenses for other dispensary businesses.

A strong majority, 71%, of Florida voters adopted a medical marijuana amendment into their state constitution in November 2016. Two years earlier, however, a similar medical marijuana amendment on the ballot in Florida in 2014 received a simple majority of votes but did not pass the 60% threshold necessary to be enshrined into the state constitution.

According to a Florida Atlantic University poll published Tuesday, about 60% of voters support the marijuana amendment, 34% oppose it, and 6% are undecided. Supporters make up 42% of Republicans, 83% of Democrats, and 63% of independents.

Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social in September that he plans to vote “yes” on Amendment 3, saying that the path to marijuana legalization has to come through “smart regulations, while providing access for adults, to safe, tested products.”

“I believe it is time to end needless arrests and incarcerations of adults for small amounts of marijuana for personal use,” Trump said on Truth Social, promising that, as president, he would also work with Congress to “unlock the medical uses of marijuana.”

The former president has not taken a stance on the drug legalization amendments on the ballot in other states.

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), who challenged the former president in the Republican primary, is a staunch opponent of Amendment 3, calling it “very, very extreme.”

Last week, DeSantis held a press conference with local law enforcement officials and posted on X that the amendment was written by “a handful of corporations” attempting to “change our constitution for financial gain.”

“Regardless of your views on marijuana, it’s clear that Amendment 3 represents blatant cronyism with half-baked provisions that will have negative consequences for our state,” DeSantis wrote. 

Medical marijuana dispensary company Trulieve has donated more than $113 million to the Smart and Safe Florida Committee in support of the amendment. Three other medical marijuana companies together donated another $8.8 million to support Amendment 3.

The committees opposed to Amendment 3 have received nearly $24 million in contributions, including $12 million from billionaire CEO and Republican megadonor Ken Griffin.

Massachusetts

Massachusetts is the only state this year that will be weighing an amendment to legalize and regulate psychedelic drugs, including both psilocybin and psilocin from mushrooms and dimethyltryptamine, mescaline, and ibogaine from plants.

The measure would authorize people over 21 to “grow, possess, and use” these psychedelic chemicals for medicinal and recreational use and create the Natural Psychedelic Substances Commission and Advisory Board to regulate the licensing and sale of psychedelics.

Those over 21 would be allowed to grow plants in a 12-foot by 12-foot area in their personal residences and use the substances at home as well.

A University of Massachusetts Amherst poll from October found that an equal share of respondents, 43%, favor or oppose the ballot measure. About 14% of respondents were unsure, meaning that the simple majority threshold could still be met by Election Day.

The use of psychedelic drugs to treat mental health conditions, including PTSD and drug-resistant depression, has been a hot-button topic in psychiatric medicine for several years.

In 2020, Oregon became the first state by referendum to legalize psilocybin mushrooms to be administered by licensed providers. In 2022, Colorado decriminalized the same five psychedelic plants and fungi as proposed in the Massachusetts ballot measure.

As of last year, 25 states have considered 69 pieces of legislation and five ballot measures, with most bills still under active consideration.

Psychedelics, particularly MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD treatment, also garnered congressional attention, with bipartisan calls for greater clinical trial funding.

According to the Massachusetts for Mental Health Options campaign supporting the ballot measure, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), 44 other politicians, and nearly 250 medical and mental health professionals from the state have endorsed the proposal.

But the Massachusetts Coalition for Safe Communities campaign against the ballot measure also has some notable backers, including the editorial board of the Boston Globe, which argues that the proposal “goes too far.”

The chief arguments against the measure include the increased risk of DUIs, so-called “bad trips,” and lack of physician oversight.

North Dakota

The North Dakota Marijuana Legalization Initiative, or Initiated Measure 5, would legalize recreational marijuana and allow people over age 21 to possess up to one ounce of marijuana, four grams of concentrate, and 300 milligrams of edibles.

The law would also allow each person to grow three plants, with a limit of six plants per household. 

The measure would also mandate that the state’s Department of Health and Human Services or a different state-level department determined by the legislature establish regulations for the production and distribution of marijuana by October 2025.

Polling data indicate that there likely is not enough support among voters to meet the simple majority threshold requirements on Election Day.

An October poll conducted by the North Dakota News Cooperative found that only 45% of voters favor legalization, 40% opposed it, and 15% were undecided. The poll’s margin of error was 4.4 percentage points.

The organization New Economic Frontier is the group that put forward Measure 5, with the stated goal “to create new economic opportunities, enhance personal freedoms, and establish a safe, regulated cannabis market that benefits all North Dakotans.”

New Economic Frontier has garnered nearly $716,000 in contributions. The largest financial supporter is the medical marijuana company Pure Dakota Health, which contributed nearly $248,000.

Several organizations, including the Chiefs of Police Association of North Dakota and the North Dakota Hospital Association, have opposed the proposal. 

Nebraska

Nebraska has two interrelated ballot initiatives this year involving the legalization of medical marijuana.

The first, Initiative 437, would legalize the medical use of marijuana. The second, Initiative 438, would establish the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission to regulate the sale and distribution of medical marijuana in the state.

Of the 38 other states and the District of Columbia that have legalized medical marijuana, 18 did so through the ballot initiative process, whereas the other 20 did so via legislation.

The coalition Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana is the leading supporter of both Initiatives 437 and 438, reporting over $1.5 million in contributions.

Contributions to the campaign included $720,000 from the group Nebraska Families 4 Medical Cannabis and $200,000 from the Western Futures Fund, a 501(c)4 organization based in Wyoming.

With less than one week before the election, a trial is underway challenging the validity of signature collection methods to get the measures on the ballot.

Former State Board of Health member John Kuehn filed a suit in mid-September in an attempt to get the initiatives off the ballot before Election Day. Although the initiatives are still on the ballot, the results of the election could be entirely invalidated if the legal challenge is successful.

Nebraska Public Media polling data from October show that 59% of respondents supported both initiatives, 33% opposed them, and 8% were undecided.

South Dakota

South Dakota’s Marijuana Legalization Initiative, formally known as Initiated Measure 29, would legalize the recreational use, possession, and distribution of marijuana to those 21 and older.

The statute would allow the possession of 2 ounces of marijuana and 16 grams of concentrated cannabis. People could grow up to six marijuana plants each, with a maximum of 12 plants per household, kept in a private residence and not visible from public spaces. 

This is the third time voters in South Dakota are voting on the issue of marijuana legalization.

In 2020, a marijuana legalization constitutional amendment passed with more than 54% of the popular vote. The measure legalized both medical and recreational marijuana.

But in 2021, a circuit judge ruled that the measure was unconstitutional because it violated the state’s single-subject requirement. The portion of the amendment that established medical marijuana use, however, was allowed to stand.

In 2022, a majority of South Dakotans, 53%, rejected a more narrow ballot initiative that would have legalized recreational marijuana.

For this year’s effort, an October Emerson College poll found that about 50% of likely voters are opposed to Initiated Measure 29, 45% support it, and 5% are undecided. A simple majority is needed for it to pass.

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Three large cannabis producers in the midwest — GLP SD, Genesis Farms, and Besame Wellness SD — have donated about $480,000 combined to the two groups campaigning in favor of the initiative, Yes On 29 and South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws.

By comparison, the opposition campaign has generated less than $38,000 in contributions.