The movement to legalize marijuana in the United States had high hopes as the year began, as efforts progressed in state legislatures and on the ground to collect signatures for ballot initiatives. But the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing regulations helped slow the momentum. Still, a number of states—including Arizona, New Jersey and Montana—will have cannabis policy votes on Election Day this November. Voters in those states will decide on adult-use marijuana, while in South Dakota the issue is medical marijuana. And in Vermont, the legislature is nearing a final vote on legalization.
Pro-pot forces continue to tout surveys showing broad public support for legalization, but the 2020 Rosenthal Cannabis Study found that a growing number of Americans are increasingly concerned about the risks and dangers of easier access to pot—and even support a moratorium on further legalization.
Meanwhile, in New Zealand, a similar debate is taking place over a referendum to legalize marijuana—which, if passed, would make the country the third after Canada and Uruguay to legalize cannabis. Supporters there say it would end the black market for pot and curb convictions, which are disproportionally higher among marginalized Maori communities; critics argue that will encourage marijuana use.
And finally, overdose deaths related to substance abuse have spiked in Maryland, the latest state to report a rise in fatalities linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. Overdoses related to methamphetamines more than doubled in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period last year, while opioid deaths climbed 9.4 percent, and fentanyl was involved with more than 90 percent of the cases.