US Election: Marijuana Legalized in Florida and Many Other States on Election Night

The end of 2016 may be described as a watershed for weed after voters in Florida, Nevada, Massachusetts, and California decided to approve recreational marijuana initiatives, with many other states passing medical cannabis provisions.

This has finally turned out to be the biggest victory for marijuana reform since 2012 when Washington and Colorado first endorsed the recreational use of the drugs. As of Wednesday, nine states voted on measures related to cannabis, out of which five were associated with recreational marijuana and four to medical. So far, all of the initiatives have been approved barring two, which are in their pending states.

Patients diagnosed with certain diseases can get a license to use the plant, according to Florida Amendment 2. Prescription marijuana was already legalized in the state but was strictly meant for patients suffering from severe muscle spasms, cancer, or other lethal conditions, which according to doctors were untreatable.

Later on, the act included a whole lot of new diseases to its list. It also allowed doctors prescribe cannabis if they found out that a patient was suffering something similar to the listed diseases. The new amendment allows patients diagnosed with epilepsy, cancer, AIDS, HIV, glaucoma, Crohn's disease, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson's disease, among others, to get a license for using the plant for medicinal purposes.

Reformers showed their jubilance, with Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, stating that it was a monumental victory for weed reform movement. He added that the end of cannabis prohibition, both nationally and internationally, is approaching very fast.

Former President Obama, in a recent interview with Bill Maher, said that the legalization measures could make the present federal approach to the plant "untenable." So far, 28 states have legalized medical cannabis, but Florida is the first state to pass legalization of the drug this year.