Florida legalizes medical marijuana
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
They may not have settled on a president yet, but Florida voters have agreed to legalize medical marijuana for people with diseases like cancer, PTSD, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and other similar conditions. Arkansas and North Dakota will also vote on if they will ease medical marijuana laws, with five other states voting on its recreational use.
If all the states vote "yes" on the marijuana measures, the drug will be available to more than 23 percent of the population for recreational use. It is already legal in Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington state, and the District of Columbia.
"This is a major tipping point: With Florida's decision, a majority of states in the U.S. now have laws allowing patients to find relief with medical marijuana, and these protections and programs are no longer concentrated in certain regions of the country like the West and Northeast,” Tom Angell, chairman of Marijuana Majority, told The Daily Beast.
Article continues belowThe 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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
