In many states, today’s election might be just as much about marijuana as it is about the next president. Eight states have some sort of marijuana initiative on the ballot. Voters in Arkansas, Florida, and North Dakota are deciding whether to permit the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Voters in California, Nevada, Maine, Arizona, and Massachusetts could legalize recreational marijuana use for adults 21 years and older.

So far, polls in all eight states show very strong support for the initiatives. This election day could provide the biggest shift in marijuana policies in the United States so far. It is very likely that recreational marijuana use will be approved in all five states voting on it.

Kansas has no such initiative on the ballot. Here, possessing any amount of marijuana is still a crime. The Kansas Legislature recently reclassified some possession crimes so that mere possessors of marijuana (without intent to distribute) now face lower sentences than they did in the past. But that is likely as progressive as Kansas drug laws will get for the time being.

If you have been charged with a drug crime in Kansas, call the criminal defense attorneys at Joseph, Hollander & Craft LLC.