Why Do Republican Lawmakers Keep Trying To Overturn Marijuana Laws Approved By Voters? (Op-Ed)
From toxifillers.com with love
“Whether or not one personally supports cannabis legalization, these undemocratic tactics ought to be a cause of deep concern.”
By Paul Armentano, NORML
Elections have consequences. Or so we’re told. But when it comes to respecting the outcomes of marijuana-related votes, Republican lawmakers are increasingly saying, “Not so fast.”
A case in point: Following Nebraskans’ decision to legalize medical cannabis access this past fall, Republican state Attorney General Mike Hilgers urged lawmakers to ignore the voter-approved law. Months later, a regulatory commission appointed by Republican Gov. Jim Pillen enacted “emergency rules” largely gutting the nascent program, despite over two-thirds of Nebraskans having voted for it.
Nebraska’s situation is hardly unique. In Texas, Republican AG Ken Paxton single-handedly pushed litigation striking down voter-approved marijuana depenalization ordinances in Austin, Dallas, San Marcos and other cities. All of the ordinances, which sought to limit local police from making low-level marijuana possession arrests, had been overwhelmingly approved by municipal voters.
In Florida, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation this spring that makes it harder for advocates to place policy questions on the ballot. He did so after last year’s marijuana legalization initiative gained 56 percent of the vote, just shy of the state’s mandatory 60 percent threshold.
Lawmakers in the Republican-dominated legislature further turned their backs on voters by rejecting numerous pieces of cannabis reform legislation this spring. In fact, the only marijuana-related bill approved by Florida lawmakers this year was legislation denying medical cannabis access to those with certain marijuana or other drug-related convictions on their record.
In Ohio, GOP leaders have spent the better part of the past two years seeking to repeal elements of the state’s 2023 voter-approved adult-use legalization law. These efforts include bills to recriminalize marijuana possession, rescind adults’ home cultivation rights and arbitrarily cap the total number of cannabis retail outlets permitted statewide. Thus far, none of this legislation has been successful, but at least two separate roll-back bills remain pending and are anticipated to be revisited by lawmakers this fall. (Separately, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine sought to double the special sales tax on cannabis products. While that effort also failed, lawmakers did approve a budget bill restructuring the way cannabis-related taxes are spent.)
Similarly, Montana lawmakers this session sought to stymie its voter-approved legalization law by calling for the creation of a state surveillance system to monitor adults’ retail marijuana purchases. (It failed.) Another bill sought to recriminalize any cannabis product containing more than 15 percent THC. (It also failed.)
In South Dakota, a Republican-led effort to repeal the state’s 2020 voter-approved medical cannabis access law failed by a single vote.
In some cases, Republican lawmakers have spearheaded efforts to nullify marijuana-related election outcomes altogether, most notably in Mississippi (by repealing a voter-approved medical marijuana measure in 2020) and in South Dakota (by striking down a voter-approved adult-use legalization initiative that same year).
Whether or not one personally supports cannabis legalization, these undemocratic tactics ought to be a cause of deep concern.
In a healthy and functioning democracy, those with competing visions on public policy vie for voters’ support and abide by their decisions. They don’t cast them aside simply because they’re sore losers.
Unfortunately, it’s becoming increasingly clear that many lawmakers, and Republican lawmakers in particular, would rather cancel their voters than abide by the will of the people and move forward with smart and sensible cannabis policies.
Paul Armentano is the Deputy Director of NORML.
Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.
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