Shortly after the 2012 election marijuana advocates were reluctant to celebrate when the popular drug was legalized in Colorado and Washington; federal law still outlawed the drug and in most cases federal law supercedes state law. Last week the Justice Department announced that they will not challenge the legalization, according to CNN.
The announcement allows for the state's to start to regulate marijuana and figure out how exactly they will deal legalization. Most importantly, Colorado and Washington can now focus on how they will tax marijuana, according to the Huffington Post.
The larger scale effect of the Department of Justice's decision is that it now opens the door for other states to pass similar laws without fears that the federal government will overrule it.
In a memo sent out to district attorneys last week Deputy Attorney General James Cole laid out the guidelines for states looking to legalize pot in the future, according to the Huffington Post.
"The Department's guidance in this memorandum rests on its expectation that states and local governments that have enacted laws authorizing marijuana-related conduct will implement strong and effective regulatory and enforcement systems that will address the threat those state laws could pose to public safety, public health and other law enforcement interests," the memo said. "A system adequate to that task must not only contain robust controls and procedures on paper; it must also be effective in practice."
With knowledge of that the Department of Justice is expecting from states that do legalize Marijuana which states are most likely to do so in the not too distant future?
California
California has attempted to legalize marijuana in the past, falling short in 2010. If organizers are able to collect 750,000 valid signatures from Oct. 1 until the end of the year a referendum will go onto the 2014 ballot that if passed would legalize marijuana as both a drug and to be used as hemp, according to the Huffington Post.
Alaska
Alaska has already passed laws decriminalizing marijuana and legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes. Pro-marijuana advocates have until the end of the year to collect a few more than 30,000 signatures to put a measure to legalize marijuana on the ballot in 2014, according to the Huffington Post.
Vermont
Vermont has recently taken steps to decriminalize the drug and medical marijuana is legal in the New England state. Gov. Peter Shumlin has been a strong advocate for marijuana reform although currently there is no legislation working toward legalization, according to the Huffington Post.
