[author: Susan Ryan]

Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in legalized marijuana.

As of this writing, some key races have yet to be called in the U.S., but the vote on cannabis is in – legalization measures won everywhere. See our roundup of the returns here. So what does this mean for national reform? Or for legalization measures in the Northeast?

In other news (yes, there is some), New Zealand voted against legalization. A marijuana bill lost in the German legislature. Hemp legalization moved forward in the Bahamas.

But we’ll start with the United States.

NATIONAL LEGALIZATION PROSPECTS

Now that over 1/3 of the population lives in a state where cannabis is legal for adult-use, does that mean a change on the federal level is coming? Well, maybe and maybe not. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) thinks chances are good, as marijuana now appears to be a bipartisan issue. Industry leaders are less sanguine, pointing to the loss of Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) as a major obstacle to legalization.

LEGALIZATION IN THE NORTHEAST

So New Jersey’s legalization measure won in a walk. What does that mean for cannabis measures in Pennsylvania and New York? Their governors favor legalizing. Cuomo promised to put a bill to legalize in the 2021 state budget. Wolf urged legislators to pass pro-marijuana legislation.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Cannabis swept in the United States, but lost in other countries. In New Zealand, preliminary results indicate that their national referendum failed. Official results are due after WIW goes to press, so we’ll follow up next week.

In Germany a legal cannabis bill lost a vote in the federal legislature, gaining the support of only The Left and the Green parties. Legalization advocates hope their chances will improve after the next election, which is expected in 2021 or 2022.

In the Bahamas, hemp legalization took a step forward. A committee charged with creating an economic recovery plan recommended hemp and hemp extracts be legalized. The next step in the process is public comment.

AND FINALLY

A word of caution, just because New Jersey legalized marijuana does not mean that you can’t get arrested for possession. According to the state’s attorney general, you need to wait for the legislature to act to implement the law.

Stay safe and be well everyone – we’ll see you next week!