When I was in college, I wanted nothing more than to move out west to a state with legal cannabis dispensaries.
At the time all legal cannabis was done through medical marijuana programs approved by individual states.
It wasn’t until a few years later when Colorado became the first state to approve recreational marijuana, with others soon following suit. In the years since, we have new states approving similar measures during every single election cycle. We might be years out from federal legalization of recreational marijuana, but that movement is catching serious wind throughout a good portion of the country. My state in particular passed a constitutional amendment legalizing medical marijuana back in 2016. Our medical cannabis program has come a long way in the years since, as we originally couldn’t purchase cannabis flower products in the state due to weird government rules and regulations. Now we can purchase everything from cannabis edibles to concentrates like live resin and live rosin. Some people are pushing for our state to legalize recreational marijuana next, but I’m hesitant on supporting that movement. While my homestate in the northern midwest saw a massive drop in prices after the legalization of recreational marijuana, many of the states out west saw an opposite effect. Their state governments created so many taxes on recreational cannabis that many have returned to the black market to afford their marijuana. It pains me to think that people once had good access to affordable cannabis products but suddenly can no longer get them due to the new system put in place regarding recreational marijuana.