The coronavirus outbreak has put weed legalization — a movement that has made considerable strides in recent years with 11 states now allowing recreational marijuana and 33 permitting medical cannabis —  on the back burner in states around the country, as politicians focus their efforts on combating the epidemic and the future of ballot referendums on the issue is thrown in the balance due to social distancing guidelines.

KEY FACTS

2020 was expected to be the year that as many as 16 states across the country passed laws that legalized medical or recreational marijuana.

Instead, the coronavirus outbreak has caused some state lawmakers to abandon the cause; “Too much [to deal with], too little time,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who called legalizing weed a “priority” earlier this year, said when asked about marijuana legalization during a recent press briefing.

State lawmakers in New York, along with Vermont, New Hampshire and Connecticut were all hopeful they could pass or expand marijuana legislation this year only to shift their focus after the outbreak began.

Marijuana advocates had also sought to pass legalization laws this year via ballot measures in almost a dozen states, but the pandemic has made it extremely difficult to collect the number of signatures needed to be included on the ballot in November. 

“The coronavirus has impacted every signature drive on every issue across the country,” Matthew Schweich, deputy director of legalization advocacy group Marijuana Policy Project, told Politico.

Still, some states — including South Dakota, New Jersey and Mississippi — were already successful in putting marijuana legalization on the ballot in November (Arizona has enough signatures but they have not yet been verified by the state).

CHIEF CRITIC

Some cannabis CEOs argue the outbreak will eventually be a boon to the legalization effort, as many governments will turn to the weed industry to boost economic activity in the wake of a coronavirus-induced recession. “When we all start to be able to lift our heads from this Covid experience, we are going to be faced with a scenario where a lot of jobs have gone away, a lot of economic development impact has disappeared,” said Charlie Bachtell, CEO of Cresco Labs, to CNBC. “How are we going to bring that back? I think cannabis has to be part of that discussion.”

CRUCIAL QUOTE

On Monday, a day unofficially known as “Weed Day,” Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) called on Congress to pass a bill she sponsored that would legalize mairjuana at the federal level and expunge non-violent weed offenses. 

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Whether marijuana advocates get creative about passing ballot initiatives. Campaigns are looking into using e-signatures and drive-by petition signing.