Voters Reject Marijuana Sales and Pro Legalization Incumbents
Smart Approaches to Marijuana sent out an update to their followers stating that voters, nationwide, rejected marijuana sales.
On Tuesday, ballot initiatives attempting to permit recreational marijuana sales were voted down across the country. Voters in Billings, Montana, Mead, Colorado, and the Detroit, Michigan suburb of Clawson, voted against retail marijuana sales by a 10, 20, and 20 point margin, respectively. The cities of Wellington, Colorado and Brighton, Colorado rejected an initiative to repeal the town's ban on retail pot shops. In Methuen, MA, voters rejected a measure to legalize transportation, cultivation, and sale of recreational marijuana by a 15 point margin. Camillus, New York voters also rejected legal sales, and a handful of New York towns will have to tally up absentee votes to determine the final outcome.
"This was a bad night for the marijuana industry," remarked Luke Niforatos, Executive Vice President of SAM, a nonpartisan marijuana policy organization. "Voters consistently show they don't like pot shops in their neighborhoods."
Several pro-marijuana incumbent candidates in Virginia and New Jersey also lost, showing once again that marijuana is not a driver of votes at the polls.
"This election proved once again that marijuana legalization is not a way to get votes. If it was, we'd see different outcomes across the board," said Niforatos.
