Five States That Could Legalize Marijuana Next

BY Ed Krayewski - This week's  announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice that it would not challenge states that had legalized marijuana provided it was "tightly regulated" was taken as a welcome, if late, sign by proponents of marijuana legalization, boosting efforts in other states.

There’s no state legislature in the country that looks ready to legalize marijuana via legislation—as the mayor of Lansing, Michigan, which has a ballot initiative seeking to legalize marijuana coming up this November,  noted , the "public is far ahead of most politicians on this issue."

Thankfully, more than half of U.S. states allow voter-initiated legislative or constitutional changes that don’t need to originate in the state capital. This means that, as support for legalizing marijuana hits a majority in nationwide polling, grassroots efforts in states from  Arkansas to  Wyoming are hard at work. Here are five states that could be next to legalize marijuana.