2018 is already off to a great start.

With recreational cannabis and marijuana products now legal in California, what will 2018 have in store for the rest of us? Other states looking to legalize recreational cannabis this year include New Jersey, Michigan, Vermont, Delaware, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, Ohio. Oklahoma, Kentucky, South Dakota, Utah, and Missouri are some of the states looking to legalize medical cannabis this year.

Lines are forming outside dispensaries and they are busier than ever in California. There was a predicted 30% bump in sales overnight but is looking more like a 50% to 60% says Matt Lucero who owns a dispensary in California and was being interviewed by CNN. Also, cannabis products will have a 15 percent excise tax!

California residents are also legally able to grow up to six cannabis plants in their home. Laws do prohibit individuals from smoking in public and you must be 21 years of age to indulge.  In 1996 voters approved Medical Cannabis in California and ever since there has been an overwhelming amount of support. Recreational pot for adults, passed in November 2016 with 57 percent of the vote. Colorado and Washington have legal cannabis, however; this will be the largest with 1 of 8 Americans calling California home.  

Hoping Illinois will follow in California’s footsteps!

• Map of legalisation efforts: http://www.newsweek.com/marijuana-legalization-2018-which-states-will-consider-cannabis-laws-year-755282

• Cannabis Laws from state to state: http://norml.org/laws

By: Samara Rubin