Red US States show more benevolence towards medical cannabis

Since 1996, the legalization of medical cannabis across the United States has spread slowly but surely, crystallizing into the largest medical cannabis market in the world by 2024. California, one of the most prominent blue states in the US, has opened the path towards medical legalization for other mainly blue states ever since the late 90s, making medical cannabis legalization a measure specific to Democrat governments to some extent. Despite the increasingly polarized political spectrum in the United States, even the most conservative parts of America have started to be more receptive to the idea of a well-structured medical cannabis programme.

“There are four places in America (reflected in red) where marijuana is fully illegal under state or territorial law, specifically Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, and American Samoa.

As of February 2024, this leaves 47 states and four inhabited U.S. territories with varying degrees of permissive marijuana use. This equates to approximately 99% of the U.S, population of some 336 million inhabitants having some degree of state or territorial law permitting cannabis use”, reports Julie A. Werner-Simon from Cannabis High Times.

This extremely high percentage of cannabis legality is not as straightforward as most cannabis enthusiasts would hope, but the future still looks bright : out of those 47 states and 4 overseas territories, approximately 84% benefit from a functional medical cannabis programme and the rest are likely to follow soon, shall the federal “rescheduling” of cannabis finally occur in 2024.

The traditionally skeptical attitude of republican states towards marijuana  are also reflected by the severe restrictions medical cannabis programmes are subjected to in states such as Texas. In the lone star state, patients must have experimented at least two other forms of medication for their conditions without any kind of visible benefit before requesting a medical marijuana prescription from the Compassionate Use Registry of Texas, the Texan registration system for medical cannabis patients. On top of that, all cannabinoid-based medication is allowed to have a maximum THC concentration of 0.5% in comparison with Californian standards which do not impose any limitation on THC concentration levels. These strict regulations have also not created an inclusive business environment for aspiring cannabis companies, having only three licensed dispensaries since 2015 in a state that is almost twice the landmass of Germany.

Whether red states will fully embrace the idea of a medical cannabis programme in 2024 is a matter of uncertainty. However, considering the predicted changes in federal legislation and a growing acceptance of this Schedule I drug across the globe, it is only a matter of time until even the most stubborn state will open up to the idea of a medical cannabis programme.

BY DANIEL CIUREA

Image by wirestock on Freepik

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