South Dakota and Montana vote to legalize recreational marijuana

South Dakota and Montana are the latest states to vote in support of the legalization of recreational marijuana use. 

Arizona and New Jersey voters also approved the legalization of recreational marijuana on Election Day.

The addition of South Dakota and Montana means that there are now 15 states in the nation that permit marijuana use for adults.

In Montana, voters approved a pair of complementary ballot initiatives that both needed to pass in order for recreational use to become legal. 

According to the Great Falls Tribune, I-190 creates rules for marijuana use, including a 20 percent tax and the option for individual counties to ban dispensaries, while CI-118 amends the Montana Constitution to allow the state to set the minimum buying age to 21.

The New York Times reported Wednesday morning that South Dakota voters approved an amendment legalizing recreational use, as well as stipulating that the state legislature “would have to pass laws legalizing medical marijuana and the sale of hemp by April 1, 2022.”

Approximately 53.4 percent of South Dakota voters supported the amendment, compared to 46.6 percent who opposed it, according to the Times. 

Voters in Mississippi approved a statewide measure to allow for medical marijuana use “for people with debilitating medical conditions,” with an overwhelming 74.1 percent of voters supporting, the Times reported Wednesday.  

This comes as voters in Washington, D.C., moved by a wide margin to decriminalize the growing, possession and noncommercial distribution of hallucinogenic mushrooms Tuesday.

More than 76 percent of voters supported Initiative 81 in the nation’s capital with just more than 40 percent of precincts reporting, according to the district’s Board of Elections.

In Oregon, voters approved the decriminalization of possessing small amounts of harder street drugs, including heroin, methamphetamines and cocaine.

The ballot measure would mean that the possession of a “non-commercial” amount of a number of drugs, which varies by type, would be punishable by no more than a $100 fine. Violators can also opt to complete a health assessment for drug addiction instead of paying a fine.