Marijuana is federally illegal in the U.S., which includes its sale, use and possession. However, the federal government has declared that any state can pass a law to allow the use of marijuana for recreational purposes as long as they have a regulated system in place.

A recent poll conducted by George Washington University (GWU) consisting of likely voters showed that 4 out of 10 respondents are more likely to take part in an election if ballots will be used for the legalization of marijuana. Another 30 percent indicated that ballot initiatives would encourage them to vote.

The survey was conducted by Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster, together with Ed Goeas, a GOP pollster. Lake considers the figures hopeful, particularly because history has shown that Democrats are slow in getting voters to join non-presidential elections.

The eagerness in turnout for the 2014 election was highlighted by the GWU survey:

  • 64 percent Republicans are more eager to vote.
  • 57 percent Democrats are more eager to vote.
  • 36 percent of young Democrats are more eager to vote.

In the GWU survey, those in favor of legalizing the personal use of medical marijuana have risen to 73 percent, while those who are in favor of legalizing possession of marijuana have risen to 53 percent.

The results of the survey also showed that seniors oppose the legalization of medical marijuana. Another group not willing to give support to the legalization of marijuana possession was rural mothers. Lake said that those two groups have a big turnout in midterm elections compared to young adults.

There are only two U.S. states that have approved ballot initiatives for marijuana this year. Voters in Alaska will choose if they will legalize and tax cannabis. This was reflected on the primary ballot of Aug. 19, as initiatives are not permitted on the general election ballot.

Voters in Florida will choose if they will permit the medical usage of marijuana in November, where they need at least 60 percent of voters for approval.

On the other hand, the state Legislature in Oregon has postponed having the marijuana legalization vote in November. A petition effort is being planned by activists to alter the decision in order to push through voting on marijuana decriminalization.

As of March 24, 2014, there are 13 other U.S. states that are anticipating legislation to decriminalize marijuana. They are Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnessota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

The Marijuana Policy Project is preparing to give support to several ballot initiatives in Arizona, California, Maine, Montana, Massachusetts and Nevada to push the legalization of cannabis to mirror that of alcohol. However, these will have to wait until 2016.

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