In March, I wrote about how coronavirus fear and government crackdowns undertaken in the name of countering coronavirus could be expected to prevent some drug war rollback measures from being included on November general election ballots. Qualifying such measures for inclusion on voters’ ballots typically requires the collection of many signatures, something that is harder to accomplish when there is widespread fear of coronavirus and expansive government mandates restricting people’s activities.
Coronavirus crackdown mandates have prohibited, among other things, large gatherings that have often been key for circulating petitions. Requirements that people stay at home or keep six feet distance from each other have been among the other new impediments to signatures collection this year.
With the November election a little over a month away, there is some good news for opponents of the drug war. Some drug war rollback ballot measures have, despite the new obstacles this year, qualified for state ballots through signatures collection. Also, additional ones are being placed on ballots by state legislatures.
Kyle Jaeger provides details at Marijuana Moment about several ballot measures voters will decide in November. Matters addressed include decriminalization of illegal drugs generally and the legalization of psilocybin mushrooms for medical use in Oregon, decriminalization of some psychedelics in Washington, DC, medical marijuana adoption in Mississippi and South Dakota, and marijuana legalization in Arizona, Montana, New Jersey, and South Dakota.
