"If the Supreme Court rules that this shouldn’t have been placed on the ballot because of this kind of silly mathematical issue with congressional districts, well, there’s just no way forward for any future initiatives," said Jared Moffat, MPP's campaigns manager.

The US is nearing a tipping point of sorts on marijuana legalization: Almost half the country — about 43 percent of the population — now lives in a state where marijuana is legal to consume just for fun. The past two months alone have seen a burst of activity as four states across the US legalized marijuana for recreational use: New Jersey, New York, Virginia, and, on Monday, New Mexico.

"They were going too far in their desire to not have a gifting economy … saying adults couldn’t share their cannabis with friends. We advocated for including sensible language that defines what sharing is and isn’t," said Matt Simon, MPP's senior legislative analyst.

"The final bill will be hundreds of thousands of dollars. In order to defend the will of the people, we’ve been working very hard to fundraise. Unlike Governor Noem, we don’t have a blank check from South Dakota taxpayers to fund our political activities," said Matthew Schweich, MPP's deputy director.

As it stands today, the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) recognizes 17 states where cannabis is legal for adult use and 36 states for medical use.

"I think most people have come to realize that cannabis has not been a gateway drug but a gateway to the criminal justice system," said Steve Hawkins, MPP's executive director.

"The sky hasn't fallen in those states that have legalized. It doesn't hurt that these laws generate a lot of economic growth in the way of new jobs, new small businesses and hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue that states could really use as they recover from COVID," said Karen O'Keefe, MPP's director of state policies.

"We’re very encouraged by the changes reflected in this substitute bill. This latest draft reflects real progress made over weeks of conversations with advocates and legislators," said DeVaughn Ward, MPP's senior legislative analyst.

"People just think about smoking. It’s so far beyond that. There are so many opportunities in this industry," said DeVaughn Ward, MPP's senior legislative counsel.

PODCAST: On March 3, 2021, Perkins Coie Partner Barak Cohen moderated a panel to discuss the future of the cannabis industry. Panelists included Michelle Rutter Friberg, Deputy Director of Government Relations at the National Cannabis Industry Association; Steve Hawkins, Executive Director of the Marijuana Policy Project; Yoko Miyashita, Chief Executive Officer of Leafly; and Andrew Kline, Senior Counsel of Perkins Coie and former public policy director for the National Cannabis Industry Association. This recap focuses on discussion related to the federal perspective.