2026 Cannabis Policy Reform Legislation and Voter Measures

Cannabis Legalization Legislation

States with proposed bills to legalize cannabis for adults: 14

• Florida — SB1398 — DEAD — would have legalized and regulated cannabis for adults 21 and older. The legislation would have allowed for sentencing and expungements for activities that would be legalized had it passed. The legislation would have allowed for home cultivation and possibly a cooperative model (subject to regulations).
• Georgia — HB1248 — DEAD — would have legalized possession for people 21 and over of up to two ounces of cannabis flower, 10 grams of concentrates, and would have allowed for home cultivation of up to three mature plants.
• Hawai’i — DEAD — Several legalization bills did not advance before deadlines. SB 3275 would have legalized low-dose cannabis, with five milligrams per serving. In February 2026, it advanced out of two committees in the Senate, but was not called to a vote in its final two committees. 2025’s SB 1613 would have legalized and regulated cannabis for adults 21 and older. It passed out of the Senate Health and Human Services and Judiciary Committees in 2025, but was not called to a vote in its final two committees. . HB 1624, SB 2420, and HB 519 proposed a constitutional amendment to legalize cannabis for adults 21 and older, while directing the legislature to regulate sales. They died after failing to be called in committee before the deadline. 2025’s HB 1246 proposed legalizing and regulating cannabis for adults 21 and older. HB 1246 passed out of the House Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs and Agriculture & Food Systems Committees on February 4, 2025, but was referred back to committee. It carried over to 2026 but did not advance before a deadline. 
• Indiana — SB 0286 — DEAD — would have legalized and regulated both adult-use and medical cannabis. HB 1191 — DEAD — would have removed penalties for possession of two ounces or less of cannabis. Possessing more than two ounces of cannabis would have been a class B misdemeanor.
• Kansas — HB 2405 — DEAD — would have legalized and regulated cannabis for adults 21 and older. HCR 5028 — DEAD — was a proposed constitutional amendment that would have added the right to use and possess cannabis to the state’s Bill of Rights. HB 2679 — DEAD — would have legalized and regulated cannabis for adults 21 and older.
• Kentucky — HB 198 — DEAD — would have removed criminal penalties for possession and limited home grow, without setting up regulated sales. HB 199 — DEAD — was a proposed constitutional amendment that would have enshrined in the state constitution the rights potentially passed in HB198 as well as would have allowed the state to regulate sales.
• Louisiana — HB373 — DEAD —would have allowed a three-year pilot program for adult-use of cannabis. Each health district would have been allowed one of the three approved medical cannabis dispensaries to implement adult-use sales if they had opted in to participate.
• Mississippi — SB 220 — DEAD — would have legalized cannabis, removing it from the state’s controlled substances scheduling and removing penalties. HB1267 —DEAD— would have legalized and regulated cannabis for adults 21 and older.
• New Hampshire — DEAD or TABLED — HB 1235 would have legalized up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis and similar amounts of other products. CACR 19 proposed a state constitutional right for adults 21 and older to possess personal use amounts of cannabis. It required a three-fifths majority in the House and Senate to appear on the November 2026 ballot. Neither bill received a floor vote before a deadline. . HB 186 would have legalized and regulated cannabis for adults. It passed the House on January 7, 2026, in a 208-135 vote. On February 10, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 2-1 against the bill. It was tabled by the Senate in a 15-9 vote. SB 651 would also have legalized and regulated cannabis for adults. It was tabled by the Senate in a 15-9 vote. HB 198 would legalize simple possession of cannabis and penalize public smoking. It passed the House floor 208-125 on March 26, 2025, and was tabled by the Senate floor in a 12-10 vote, with two excused. HB 75 would legalize cannabis for adults 21 and older. It passed the House in a voice vote, and was tabled on the Senate floor in a 15-9 vote. 
• North Carolina — H 413 would legalize and regulate cannabis for adults 21 and older. S 350 would legalize and regulate both adult-use and medical cannabis. S 1072 is a proposed constitutional amendment that would legalize the possession of cannabis and instruct the General Assembly to implement rules and regulations for medical and adult use of cannabis.
• Pennsylvania — DEAD — SB 120, HB 20, and HB 1735 would have legalized cannabis with privately-run, state-licensed stores. HB 1200 — DEAD — would have legalized cannabis for adults, with sales from state-run stores. It passed the House of Representatives in a 102-101 vote on May 7, 2025, but was voted down, 7-3, by the Senate Law and Justice Committee. HB1107 — DEAD — would have established an adult-use cannabis program, but it was an incomplete bill focused on farmer-grower permits.
• Tennessee — SB 809 —DEAD—would have legalized and regulated cannabis for adults. SB 923 and HB 981 —DEAD—would have legalized possession and home grow of up to five plants without a regulated market. All bills carried over from 2025. HB 2479 and SB 2486 — DEAD — would have removed all criminal penalties for possession and cultivation on an individual’s private property of up to 15 cannabis plants, with five being mature. These bills would not have included a regulated market.
• West Virginia — SJR 5 —DEAD— would have proposed a state constitutional right for adults 21 and older to possess and grow modest amounts of cannabis. If approved by voters, it would have also directed the legislature to regulate cannabis sales, and allow petition-based expungement for convictions for possession of up to two ounces of cannabis. HB 4371 — DEAD — would have legalized cannabis for adults, and have a county opt-in for legal production and sales. 
• Wisconsin — DEAD — SB 1045 and AB 1061 would have legalized and regulated cannabis for adults 21 and older. It would also create a medical cannabis program and regulate intoxicating hemp. They were sponsored by 14 of the 15 Democratic senators and 33 Democratic representatives. 

Twenty-four states, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have legalized cannabis for adults 21 and older. One of the 24 states — Virginia — only has legal possession and home cultivation, with no legal sales, as does Washington, D.C. In Virginia, the General Assembly and governor reached a deal to legalize sales in the budget with sales beginning July 1, 2027. Thus far, Congressional intervention has prevented regulated adult-use sales in Washington, D.C., where voters legalized adult-use possession and home cultivation. 

Bills to Remove Possible Jail Time — Often Imposing a Fine — for Simple Possession (“Decriminalization”)

States with decriminalization bills: 9

• Alabama — SB 285 — DEAD — would have decriminalized possession of up to one ounce of cannabis flower for a first offense. The offense would have been a Class C misdemeanor with no jail time and a fine that could not have exceeded $250. A second offense within a five-year time period would have been a Class C misdemeanor with a fine not to have exceeded $500. A third or subsequent offense would have been a Class D felony, with a fine of $750, but no jail time.
• Georgia— SB558 —DEAD —would have decriminalized possession of two tiers of cannabis flower up to three ounces. The offenses would have been a misdemeanor with no jail time for the first three offenses. For possession of up to a half an ounce, there would have been a fine of up to $300 or community service of up to 250 hours; for possession of up to three ounces, there would have been a fine of up to $1000 or community service of up to 500 hours. Subsequent offenses would have included jail time of up to one year.
• Iowa —DEAD — HF 72 would have decriminalized possession of 10 grams or less of cannabis. —DEAD —HF 78 would have decriminalized possession of up to one-half ounce (14 grams). Although these bills remove jail time for possession, they carry an exorbitant $500 misdemeanor fine. —DEAD —HF 2206 would have made one ounce or less no longer a criminal offense, but punishable by a civil fine. If the person is under 21 they would have to complete a drug awareness program as a consequence. None of the bills advanced before a legislative deadline.
• Kansas — SB 295 —DEAD —would have created a civil infraction of $25 for possession of under one ounce, five grams of concentrate, or 1,000 milligrams of edibles.
• Pennsylvania  — DEAD — SB 75 and HB 758 would have reduced the penalty for possession of up to 30 grams of marijuana or eight grams of hashish to a summary offense carrying a fine of up to $25. It would have imposed a fine of up to $100 for smoking cannabis in public. South Carolina — H 3110 — DEAD — would have created a civil infraction for possession of 28 grams of cannabis flower or 10 grams of hashish. This bill would have restructured other drug possession penalties. H 3804 — DEAD  — would have created a civil infraction with no jail time for possession of under 28 grams of flower or 10 grams of hashish.
• South Carolina —H 3110 — DEAD — would have created a civil infraction for possession of 28 grams of cannabis flower or 10 grams of hashish. This bill would have restructured other drug possession penalties. H 3804 — DEAD — would have created a civil infraction with no jail time for possession of under 28 grams of flower or 10 grams of hashish.
• Tennessee — HB 1996 and SB 2571 — DEAD —would have reduced the penalty for possession of under 28 grams of cannabis flower to a misdemeanor with no custodial arrest, a fine of up to $100, and up to 10 hours of community service. These bills also restructure penalties for possession of more than 28 grams to half a pound of cannabis flower. 
• Utah — HB 253 — DEAD — would have reduced the penalty for possession of up to 14 grams to a civil infraction for a first conviction, with subsequent offenses being misdemeanors. Infractions would have carried fines up to $750, with no jail time.
• West Virginia — SB 100 — DEAD — would have reduced the penalty for possession of up to 15 grams of cannabis to a civil offense carrying a fine of up to $25. The legislature adjourned without the bill ever being called in committee. 

Thirty-one states and Washington, D.C. have decriminalized or legalized cannabis possession. Check out MPP’s report on the 19 states that have not even stopped jailing cannabis consumers. 

Effective Medical Cannabis Bills

States with bills to create comprehensive medical cannabis programs: 6(one became law)

• Georgia — SB 220 — PASSED — strengthens Georgia’s existing low-THC program, making it a full medical cannabis state. It allows vaporization and removes the 5% THC cap, instead having a limit of 12,000 milligrams (or 12 grams) of THC at a time. HB 440 — DEAD —would have created a comprehensive medical cannabis program.
• Kansas — SB 294 , HB 2752, and HB 2678 — DEAD — would have created a conservative, comprehensive medical cannabis program. HCR 5029 — DEAD — was a proposed constitutional amendment that would have added the right to use and possess medical cannabis to the state’s Bill of Rights.
• North Carolina — DEAD — HB 1011 would have created a comprehensive medical cannabis program. HB 984 would have allowed patients to participate in approved state cannabis research programs.
• South Carolina — S 0053 — DEAD — would have created a conservative, comprehensive medical cannabis program. H 3019 — DEAD —would have created a much more expansive medical cannabis program than S0053. H 3018 — DEAD —would have given legal protection from prosecution for veterans suffering from combat-related PTSD for possession of under 28 grams of cannabis flower or 10 grams of hashish. 
• Tennessee — HB 0872 — DEAD —would have created a comprehensive medical cannabis program. 
• Wisconsin — DEAD — SB 534 would have allowed individuals with a qualifying medical condition and a prescriber’s written confirmation to register to use and safely access medical cannabis preparations. It passed the Senate Health Public Committee on February 5, 2026, but did not receive a floor vote before the legislature adjourned. . AB 547 was a very similar or identical bill, which was referred to the Assembly Committee on Health, Aging and Long-Term Care. It was not even given a hearing.

Forty-one states, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have effective medical cannabis laws. In addition, Iowa has a more restrictive law that allows in-state distribution of federally illegal cannabis-based products with lower amounts of THC, and a 1980 law in South Carolina should be implemented now that the federal government has rescheduled medical cannabis.

Adding Home Cultivation to Existing Medical and Adult-Use Laws — 7

• Florida — S 0776 — DEAD — would have allowed medical patients 21 and older to cultivate up to six flowering plants at home.
• Kentucky — HB 401 — DEAD — would have allowed medical patients 21 and older to cultivate up to three mature plants at home.
• New Hampshire — DEAD — HB 53 would have allowed registered patients and designated caregivers to cultivate up to three mature plants at home. It passed the House of Representatives on February 20, 2025. On April 17, 2025, the Senate deadlocked in a 12-12 vote and it was tabled in a 16-8 vote. 
• New Jersey — Carries over to 2027 session — S 2564 would allow adults 21 and older to grow up to six cannabis plants at home, and patients could grow up to 10 plants. S 1758 would allow medical cannabis patients who are 21 or older, or their caregivers, to grow up to four mature and four immature plants at home. 
• Pennsylvania — SB 76 would allow patients who are 21 or older to grow up to five mature plants in an enclosed, locked space.
• Washington — SB 6204 and HB 1449 — DEAD — would have allowed adults to cultivate up to six plants at home. Washington is one of only four legalization states that doesn’t allow adult-use home cultivation. On Feb. 3, the Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce advanced the bill. Both bills died with the legislature’s adjournment without receiving a vote. 
• West Virginia — HB 5259 — DEAD — would have allowed medical patients and/or their designated caretakers to cultivate up to 10 plants, with a limit of five mature plants. 

Four of the 24 legalization states don’t allow adults to cultivate cannabis for personal use — Delaware, Illinois, New Jersey, and Washington. Fifteen of the 40 medical cannabis states don’t allow home cultivation. 

Rollbacks and Recriminalization

• Arizona — DEAD — SB 1725 would have created harsh nuisance offenses for smoking cannabis on one’s own private property. If passed, it would have been a misdemeanor carrying up to four months in prison to smoke cannabis in one’s backyards if it can be detected (even faintly) three times in a 30-day period from another property. The Senate and two House committees passed the bill, but it did not receive a House floor vote before adjournment.
• Florida — H. 1003 and S. 1056 — DEAD — would have created penalties, including criminal penalties on second and subsequent offenses, for possession of an open container for both cannabis and hemp products. The law would have applied to possession by the operator or passenger(s) in a vehicle. Medical patients would have had their patient status suspended for a first offense and permanent ban for a subsequent offense. 
• Louisiana — HB568 — PASSED — brings mandatory jail time of up to one year and a possible fine of up to $1,000 for consuming cannabis within 2,000 feet of a school, including universities, or on a school bus. The penalty for possessing up to 14 grams of cannabis in Louisiana is now a criminal misdemeanor with a fine of up to $100. This would increase the penalty to up to a year in jail for cannabis consumed within 0.37 miles of school property.
• Nebraska — FIXED — As introduced, LB 1235 would have gutted Nebraska’s voter-approved medical cannabis laws by requiring patients to register with the state and adding burdens on recommending practitioners. It would have eliminated a patient’s ability to get a certification from a practitioner licensed in another state, while failing to provide legal protections for Nebraska practitioners. Practitioners would have had to pay a fee of up to $150 and enroll in a registry, and their names would be public. The bill was amended in committee and no longer includes these outrageous provisions. However, it was amended to remove those offensive provisions, and to instead provide for fees and administrative matters for the regulatory commission. It passed in its amended version and was signed into law.
• New Jersey — Carries over to 2027 session — Sen. Pres. Scutari’s S. 3171 would make it a crime, carrying up to six months in jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000, to buy cannabis from an unlicensed business. S. 784 would erode employment protections for the off-site, off-hours responsible use of cannabis. It requires certain employers to prohibit the adult-use of cannabis by their employees. It includes employers of workers who operate heavy machinery, operate weapons, and law enforcement officers. The workers would be subject to employer drug testing policies, which can result in positive tests for cannabis use 30 days or more prior. 
• Minnesota — SF 3591 — DEAD —would have capped THC at 15% in flower and 30% in concentrates.
• Missouri — SB 1187 — DEAD — would have made the public consumption of cannabis a Class B misdemeanor — punishable by up to six months in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. This would apply even to the non-smoked, medical use of cannabis.
• South Dakota — HB 1065 — DEAD — would have eliminated the affirmative defense for unregistered patients. It passed the House of Representatives in a 53-13 vote on Feb. 17. SB 181 — DEAD — would have eliminated the state’s medical cannabis program 90 days after re-scheduling is enacted. SB 194 — DEAD — would have imposed THC caps that would deprive medical cannabis patients of the products that work best for them. The South Dakota Senate Health and Human Services Committee deferred both SB 181 and SB 194 to the non-existent “41st legislative day.”

Other Bills

If you live in a state that still prohibits cannabis and no lawmakers have taken the lead to change that, send your state legislators a note to ask them to stand up for humane and sensible cannabis policies. Take a few moments to email them in support of medical cannabis, decriminalization, or legalizing and regulating cannabis.

MPP has webpages for each individual state, which you can access here. They include a snapshot of cannabis policies in the state, along with additional bills, courtesy of Bill Track 50. These include expungement bills, employment protections, and other proposals to improve (or in some cases undermine) existing legalization, medical cannabis, and decriminalization laws. 

Ballot Measures 

2026 may see ballot measures both to expand cannabis freedoms and to roll progress back. Here are some of the proposed measures:

• Florida, legalization — DEAD — Smart & Safe Florida submitted 1.4 million signatures to refer a constitutional amendment to legalize cannabis to voters; to pass, it would have needed 60% of the vote. The state Division of Elections stated they verified 783,000 signatures of the 880,000 needed by the Feb 1 deadline. The campaign sued the state over several arguments the state used to reject signatures. The Supreme Court has decided to no longer review suits associated with the campaign.
• Idaho, medical cannabis — DEAD — The Natural Medicine Alliance of Idaho handed in 150,000 raw signatures to qualify a proposal for the November ballot to allow safe access to medical cannabis. However, the state ruled that insufficient verified signatures were submitted. Massachusetts — Prohibitionists successfully filed a ballot initiative that, if passed, would repeal regulated, adult-use sales of cannabis, driving those sales underground and across state lines. (A Maine repeal initiative did not meet a deadline for 2026 but it could qualify for 2027. A prohibitionist measure in Arizona was also proposed, but abandoned after the lead proponent realized he was misled.)
• Idaho, blocking future legalization — Legislators referred a constitutional amendment (HJR 4) to the ballot that would strip voters of the ability to legalize currently prohibited drugs in the future, including cannabis.

Federal Bills

• Safe Sips Act (HR 993): The Safe Sips Act, if passed, would color-code and add a universal symbol for color blind individuals shopping for “intoxicating” beverages. Intoxicating beverages include anything deemed intoxicating, including THC, kratom, alcohol, or any other intoxicating substances.
• Beverage Regulatory Parity Act (HR 10079): Bipartisan lawmakers Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) and Greg Landsman (D-OH) introduced the Beverage Regulatory Parity Act. The legislation creates regulations for hemp-derived beverages. The bill would also put a federal tax on the beverages at 8 cents per milligram of THC.[
• Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA): SB 5022, if passed, would fully deschedule cannabis by removing it from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), and create comprehensive guidelines for regulation. It would also add a federal tax on cannabis, and use a portion of federal tax funds for an Opportunity Trust Fund to support communities that have been the most affected by the War on Drugs. The bill would also allow expungement for some cannabis offenses.
• The Hemp Planting Predictability Act: HR 7024 would delay the hemp-derived cannabinoid product ban by three years, until November 12, 2028. This bill has been referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
• Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act: HR 5068, if passed, would decriminalize and deschedule cannabis at the federal level, while creating a comprehensive framework for cannabis regulation. It would also provide expungement of certain cannabis-related offenses and create an Opportunity Trust Fund to reinvest in communities harmed by the War on Drugs.
• Strengthen the 10th Amendment Through Entrusting the STATES 2.0 Act (STATES 2.0): HR 2934 is a bi-partisian bill that is designed to end federal cannabis prohibition. It would deschedule cannabis under federal law, create a federal framework for regulation, and respect state and tribal autonomy while establishing federal oversight.
• Veteran’s Cannabis for Safe Healing Act: HR 966 would protect veterans from getting their Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits denied for participating in their state-legal medical cannabis program. It would also allow VA doctors to recommend cannabis to their veteran patients. It was referred to the House Subcommittee on Health.
• Veteran’s Equal Access Act: HR 1384 would allow VA doctors to recommend cannabis to VA patients in states with legal medical cannabis programs. It was referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Subcommittee on Health.