Even as federal drug policy reform efforts picked up in 2023, U.S. states continued to lead the country’s push for marijuana legalization during the past year. States passed news legalization measures, launched adult-use retail sales and set a raft of sales records as markets matured.
Lawmakers at the state-level also continued to adjust laws around legal cannabis and how to regulate commercial activity and private use. Among the trends in 2023 were efforts at allowing legal marijuana businesses state-level tax deductions, providing protections to workers who consume while off duty and preparing to open up borders to interstate cannabis commerce.
Here are some of the biggest state-level marijuana news stories of 2023:
State-Level Legalization
Five more U.S. states and territories passed laws legalizing marijuana in some form during 2023. Some other states, such as Hawaii and New Hampshire, also made progress—despite some hiccups—on the road to reform. The year also saw voters in Oklahoma reject a legalization measure and cities in Texas put decriminalization measures on local ballots, with mixed results.
Minnesota
In May, Gov. Tim Walz (D) signed a reform bill into law to make Minnesota the 23rd U.S. state to legalize marijuana, removing penalties for simple possession and
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