This year’s election was full of bizarre, unexpected, and sometimes frightening twists and turns. And Donald Trump’s upset victory topped it all off. Post-election America is a different place. In all sorts of ways. And one of the most important has to do with access to legal cannabis.

Most of the attention this fall has been on the presidential race. But November 8 was a big day for marijuana laws too. There were nine states with marijuana bills on the ballot. These bills could bring in a new age of cannabis in the US. But there’s still a lot of uncertainty as well.

Voting On Access To Legal Cannabis

Here’s how things went down. California, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Maine voted to legalize recreational cannabis. Arizona was also voting on recreational pot. But the bill lost in that state.

There were also a bunch of medical marijuana bills. Florida, Arkansas, Montana, and North Dakota all approved new medical marijuana laws. That means that almost every state with a cannabis bill voted for it. The only place that couldn’t pass a new marijuana initiative was Arizona. This high percentage of positive votes reflects widespread support of cannabis.

There is now more support for marijuana in the US than ever before. In a recent survey, 89% of voters said they support legal medical marijuana. And 60% of people stated that they’re in favor of legalizing recreational cannabis. With voters in eight out of nine states approving new cannabis laws, the popular support for marijuana couldn’t be clearer.

Crunching The Numbers

To really see how big Tuesday’s marijuana votes are, you’ve got to look at the figures. If you add up the population of each of those states, it’s a staggering 75 million people. That’s how many more people will have access to legal cannabis.

And when you add that to the states that already have legal medical or recreational pot, the numbers are even bigger. Once all these new laws go into effect, 1 in 5 Americans will have access to legal cannabis.

That’s huge. That’s an entirely new marijuana scene. The big question now is if these new changes will start the avalanche that leads to nationwide legalization.

So far, the federal government hasn’t budged when it comes to cannabis. Earlier this year, the DEA refused to reclassify marijuana. And countless people continue serving time for marijuana-related crimes. But many experts see Tuesday’s votes as building up a ton of momentum.

The other big question is what Donald Trump will do when he takes office next year. Throughout his campaign, he’s been a bit unclear. He’s made comments that sound open to medical marijuana. But the Republican Party chose not to make legalization part of its official platform.

The Final Hit

Post-election America is definitely a different place. And especially when it comes to cannabis. With a lot of positive changes on the horizon, we’ll have to wait and see what happens at the federal level. Especially with Mr. Trump at the helm.