五个州的大多数选民，包括红州和蓝州，通过了合法化的投票措施大麻在选举日。

根据倡导者和专家的说法，民意调查显示的支持将对其他州和联邦政府施加更大的压力，以更新其药物政策。

“这表明人们对20世纪70年代过时的药物政策感到沮丧，”贡萨加大学的法学教授、哈佛法学院佩特里-弗洛姆健康法律政策中心的研究员梅森·马克斯告诉美国广播公司新闻。

在某些情况下，比如纽约，民选官员公开呼吁重大政策变革。

在新泽西州、南达科他州、蒙大拿州和亚利桑那州通过的投票措施中，21岁以上的居民将能够出于娱乐目的购买和消费大麻。南达科坦选民还通过了一项单独的措施，使该州的药用大麻合法化。在选民在选举日通过一项倡议后，密西西比州还将允许成年人使用医用大麻。

库存照片/盖蒂图片

新泽西州特伦顿的州议会大厦。

五个州的州立法机构和卫生部门将于明年出台娱乐用大麻的具体规定。

非营利组织大麻政策项目副主任马修·施魏克(Matthew Schweich)表示，在全国各地的大麻倡导者开展活动，引用已经通过的州的例子来宣传合法大麻的好处后，投票措施出台了。

A华盛顿州立大学去年发布的一项研究在华盛顿州或科罗拉多州，第一个将娱乐大麻合法化的州，发现“娱乐大麻法律或合法零售的启动对暴力或财产犯罪率没有统计上显著的长期影响”。

去年，科罗拉多州，第一个将娱乐用大麻合法化的州之一，销售额超过10亿美元大麻增加了国库收入。

“在所有五个州的选民中引起共鸣的信息是，大麻合法化是一项行之有效的政策，在其他州也取得了成功，”施韦奇告诉美国广播公司新闻。"在选举日之前，11个州已经将大麻合法化，但没有一个州废除了合法化。"

美国广播公司新闻，大麻政策项目

合法使用大麻的州

多米诺效应?

马克斯说，投票措施在五个州的成功可能会给周围的州领导人造成多米诺骨牌效应，他们一直犹豫不决，不愿接受改变毒品政策的呼吁。

“我认为，当娱乐用大麻合法化时，其他州肯定会效仿，”他说。

在纽约，来自政府三个部门的领导人已经开始了这些呼吁。

在新泽西通过投票措施的第二天，纽约市长比尔·白思豪呼吁目前允许医用大麻使用的州带头。

“我们在新泽西看到过。现在，是纽约州去做的时候了。以正确的方式使大麻合法化，”他在每日新闻发布会上说。

州长安德鲁·科莫(Andrew Cuomo)在一天后接受WAMC公共电台采访时回应了这一呼吁，称由于该州的预算问题，合法化的条件已经“成熟”。

“我认为今年时机已经成熟，因为该州将急需资金，”他说。

纽约州参议员查尔斯·舒默(Charles Schumer)也呼吁联邦政府结束大麻禁令，“以消除禁毒战争造成的伤害，特别是在黑人和棕色人种社区。”

美国缉毒署将大麻归类为“附表1”药物，这种药物是非法的，“目前没有公认的医疗用途，滥用的可能性很高。”

阻力依然存在

马克斯说，虽然这种言论表明更多的人支持改变国家的毒品政策，但他指出，主要群体仍有阻力。

反对合法化的倡导团体“大麻的智能方法”在对美国广播公司新闻的一份声明中称，合法化努力使“意图扩大成瘾以获取利润”的企业实体受益。

该非营利组织的总裁兼联合创始人凯文·萨贝特(Kevin Sabet)赞扬了当选总统乔·拜登(Joe Biden)的大麻政策，该政策强调大麻合法化，并删除因持有少量大麻而被捕的人的犯罪记录。

他在一份声明中说:“我们准备与拜登政府合作，帮助促进以科学为基础的药物政策，使人们受益，而不是以成瘾为目的的盈利大麻产业及其来自大烟草、大酒精、大制药和华尔街其他公司的投资者。”

马克斯指出，拜登因在90年代通过立法惩罚美国人轻微毒品犯罪而受到严厉批评。他补充说，拜登目前的毒品政策建议受到了批评，特别是他呼吁实施分流计划，将因毒品犯罪被捕的人置于治疗计划中，而不是监狱。

“许多倡导者说这相当于监禁，”马克斯说。“它们影响人们的公民权利。这可能弊大于利。如果有人不按照法院的命令进行治疗，他们仍然可能最终入狱。”

胡里奥·科尔特斯/美联社档案

慈悲关怀基金会医用大麻药房的一名成长中的员工正在修剪树叶

施魏克说，拜登的政策有利于在全国推进合法化。他指出，当选总统自离开参议院以来在毒品政策上的变化反映了美国人在毒品政策上的新基调。

“他的职位代表了许多美国人，尤其是他这个年龄的美国人经历的一种演变，”施韦奇说。

施韦奇补充说，拜登让各州决定其大麻政策的立场将是大麻未来的一个重要因素。据施韦奇称，这将使更多的州能够推行合法化计划和未来的投票措施，而不那么担心白宫会阻止它。

“在州一级，不管国会发生什么，我们都会看到更多的进展，”他说。"大麻改革运动势头强劲。"

Marijuana legalization successes pave way for national conversation on drug laws: Experts

A majority of voters in five states, both red and blue, passed ballot measures that legalizedmarijuanaon Election Day.

This show of support at the polls will put more pressure on other states and the federal government to update its drug policies, according to advocates and experts.

"This indicates that people are frustrated with the outdated drug policies from the 1970s," Mason Marks, a law professor at Gonzaga University and a fellow in residence at Harvard Law School's Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, told ABC News.

In some cases, like New York, elected officials are publicly sounding the call for major policy changes.

In ballot measures passed in New Jersey, South Dakota, Montana and Arizona, residents over 21 will be able to purchase and consume marijuana for recreational purposes. South Dakotan voters also passed a separate measure that legalized medicinal marijuana in the state. Mississippi will also allow adults to use medical marijuana after voters passed an initiative on Election Day.

State legislatures and health departments in the five states will come up with the specific regulations for recreational marijuana next year.

The ballot measures came after marijuana advocates across the country ran campaigns promoting the benefits of legal marijuana by citing the examples from the states that already passed it, according to Matthew Schweich, the deputy director of the nonprofit group the Marijuana Policy Project.

Astudy released last year by Washington State Universityfound "no statistically significant long-term effects of recreational cannabis laws, or the initiation of legal retail sales, on violent or property crime rates," in Washington State or Colorado, the first states to legalize recreational pot.

Last year, Colorado, one of the first states to legalize recreational marijuana,generated more than $1 billion in salesfrom marijuana, which increased the state's coffers.

"The message that has resonated with voters in all five states was the fact that marijuana legalization is a proven policy and worked successfully in other states," Schweich told ABC News. "Eleven states had legalized marijuana in the lead up to Election Day, and none of those states have repealed legalization."

Domino effect?

Marks said the ballot measure successes in the five states could create a domino effect for the surrounded state leaders who have been hesitant to take up the calls for drug policy changes.

"I think other states will definitely follow suit when it comes to legalizing recreational marijuana," he said.

In New York, leaders from all three branches of government have already begun those calls.

A day after New Jersey passed its ballot measure, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called on the state, which currently allows medical marijuana use, to its lead.

"We see it in New Jersey. Now, it's time for New York State to do it. Legalize marijuana the right way," he said during his daily news conference.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo echoed that call a day later during an interview on WAMC public radio, contending the conditions for legalization were "ripe" because of the state's budget issues.

"I think this year it is ripe because the state is going to be desperate for funding," he said.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., also called on the federal government to end its marijuana prohibition "to undo the harms done by the War on Drugs, particularly in Black and brown communities."

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency classifies marijuana as a "schedule 1" drug that is illegal and has "no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse."

Resistance remains

Marks said while this rhetoric indicates more support for changing the nation's drug policy, he noted there is still resistance from major groups.

The advocacy group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which opposes legalization, contended in a statement to ABC News that the legalization efforts have benefited corporate entities "intent on expanding addiction for profit."

Kevin Sabet, the nonprofit's president and co-founder, praised President-elect Joe Biden's marijuana policy, which emphasizes decriminalizing marijuana and expunging criminal records for people who were arrested for possessing small amounts of the drug.

"We are ready to work with the Biden Administration to help promote science-based drug policy that benefits people, not the addiction-for-profit marijuana industry and its investors from Big Tobacco, Big Alcohol, Big Pharma, and others on Wall Street," he said in a statement.

Marks noted that Biden has come under heavy criticism for his role in passing legislation in the '90s that punished Americans for minor drug offenses. He added there has been criticism of Biden's current drug policy proposals, particularly his call for diversion programs where persons arrested for drug offenses are placed in treatment programs instead of jail.

"A lot of advocates say that's the equivalent to incarceration," Marks said. "They impact people's civil rights. It could do more harm than good. If someone doesn't follow the court's order for treatment, they can still end up in jail."

Schweich said Biden's policy is good for advancing legalization across the country. He noted that the president-elect's change in drug policies since he left the Senate reflects the new tone among Americans when it comes to drug policies.

"His position represents an evolution that many Americans, particularly those of his age, have gone through," Schweich said.

Schweich added that Biden's stance on letting the states decide their marijuana policy will be an important factor in the future of marijuana. This will allow more states to pursue legalization plans and future ballot measures with less concern that the White House will block it, according to Schweich.

"On the state level, we will see more progress regardless of what happens in Congress," he said. "The marijuana reform movement has very strong