Date: January 10, 2012

Legalization of MarijuanaAustin Heimark, Matt Hoffman and Stetson Miller

Recent Developments•Past 2 decades – movement to legalize

•16 states and DC have legalized marijuana

•Dec 2011: Study says 1/15 teens use marijuana daily

•Nov 2011: Petitioned Fed Gov’t to Reclassify Marijuana as Drug with accepted Medical Uses

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1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr

West

North

State Year Passed

Fee Possession Limit

Accepts other IDs?

California

1996 $66/$33

8oz No

Oregon 1998 $100/$20

24oz No

Washington

1998 $0 24oz No

Alaska 1999 $25/$20

1oz Unknown

Maine 1999 $100/$75

2.5oz Yes

Colorado

2000 $90 2oz No

Hawaii 2000 $25 3oz No

Nevada 2000 $150+ 1oz NoMontana

2004 $25/$10

1oz No

Vermont

2004 $50 2oz No

Rhode Island

2006 $75/$10

2.5oz YesNew Mexico

2007 $0 6oz No

Michigan

2008 $100/$25

2.5oz Yes

Arizona 2010 $150/$75

2.5oz Yes

New Jersey

2010 $200/$20

2oz Unknown

Recent DevelopmentsState Year passed

Fee Possesion Limit

Accepts other IDs?

DC 2010 N/A 2oz dried

Unknown

Delaware

2011 N/A 6oz Yes•States say it needs to be decriminalized so they can regulate safe distribution of the drug without federal prosecution

Public Opinion

•http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/half-of-americans-want-pot-legalized/69er0gq?cpkey=6343c262-0260-4a09-a916-e60eadc0ae20%7Cflyers+vs.+senators+fights%7C%7C%7C&q=flyers%20vs.%20senators%20fights&adlt=strict

•According to a recent Gallup Poll, 50% of Americans think Marijuana should be legal.

•46% think it should be illegal

•70% think it should be legal for medical use

Political Party Positions•The Republican Party does not Marijuana legalized.

•The Democratic Party generally favors legalization.

•The Libertarian Party – Want to end drug prohibition.“Drug prohibition does more to make Americans unsafe than any other factor.” – lp.org