Midterm voters approved the legalization of recreational marijuana use in Oregon, Alaska, and Washington, D.C. last night, but California's Prop. 47 is a major strike against the war on drugs, too.
The ballot measure, which will help alleviate the state's chronic prison crowding and save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars as a result, will reduce sentencing on drug possession by changing the charge from a felony to a misdemeanor. The new maximum sentence for drug possession will be one year, and those currently serving longer sentences will have the right to appeal for a sentence reduction.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'New poll gives Harris an edge'Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
-
Threads: how apocalyptic pseudo-documentary shocked a nationIn the Spotlight The rarely shown nuclear annihilation film will reappear on TV screens this week
-
Alma's Not Normal, season two: 'hilarious' sitcom is 'pretty much perfect'The Week Recommends The second instalment of Sophie Willan's semi-autobiographical comedy is a 'triumph'
-
Trump criminal trial starts with rulings, reminderSpeed Read The first day of his historic trial over hush money payments was mostly focused on jury selection
-
Parents of school shooter sentenced to 10-15 yearsSpeed Read Jennifer and James Crumbley are the first parents to be convicted in a US mass shooting
-
Unlicensed dealers and black market gunsSpeed Read 68,000 illegally trafficked guns were sold in a five year period, said ATF
-
Bankman-Fried gets 25 years for fraudSpeed Read Former "crypto king" Sam Bankman-Fried will report to federal prison
-
Feds raid Diddy homes in alleged sex trafficking caseSpeed Read Homeland Security raided the properties of hip hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs
-
'Goon Squad' cops sentenced for torturing 2 Black menSpeed Read The former Mississippi law enforcement officers pleaded guilty last year
-
Michigan shooter's dad guilty of manslaughterspeed read James Crumbley failed to prevent his son from killing four students at Oxford High School in 2021
-
Shooting at Chiefs victory rally kills 1, injures 21Speed Read Gunfire broke out at the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl victory parade in Missouri
