Staff Writer
Nevada
lawmakers decided last Friday to officially vote on marijuana legalization during
the 2016 election, making it the first state to do so. Nevada voters will now
be able to decide whether or not they want to legalize and regulate weed.
Colorado, Alaska, Washington, and Oregon are the four states that have already
legalized marijuana, and multiple other states are seriously considering making
the drug legal.
California
was the first state to introduce medical marijuana, and several groups,
including the Marijuana Policy Project and the Drug Policy Alliance, are trying
to completely legalize the drug. While
the state has shown strong support for the regulation and legalization of weed,
there are still conservative groups that have tried to prevent legalization
initiatives in the past. Despite this,
many experts are predicting that California will be among the next states to
legalize. Massachusetts is another state
moving towards legalization. It passed a
law allowing medical marijuana in 2012, and several districts have shown
support for the legitimization of weed.
A recent survey conducted by SKD Knickerbocker
and the Benenson Strategy Group found that 72% of people are in favor of
decriminalization of marijuana and 61% of people are in favor of marijuana
legalization. In a recent poll by Pew
Research Center, 67% of people said that the U.S. Government should focus more
heavily on the treatment, as opposed to the punishment, of illegal drug users
and 75% of people said that they believe marijuana will eventually be legal
throughout the entire nation.
