Nov. 5, 2024, was a tough day for cannabis legalization supporters.

Recreational legalization ballot questions in Florida, North Dakota and South Dakota all failed.

Two medical measures passed in Nebraska but face legal challenges over the validity of the signatures required to get the measures on the ballot. Why two measures? One legalizes the medical use of cannabis, and the second regulates it.

A medical use ballot measure also appeared on the ballot in Arkansas, but the state Supreme Court ruled before the election that the votes can’t be counted because the title and name were “misleading.”

These failures raise questions about where the movement to legalize cannabis goes from here.

The red wall holds

I’ve been researching cannabis legalization in the U.S. since 2014. I’ve previously written about how the cannabis legalization movement’s primary obstacle is the “red wall,” a term I use to refer to the 20 states where Republicans have total control of state government and recreational cannabis remains illegal.

Another four states without recreational legalization – Kansas, Wisconsin, Kentucky and North Carolina – could be described as “red wall adjacent.” These states have Democratic governors, but Republicans control the state legislatures.

Pennsylvania may become the fifth of these red wall adjacent states if Republicans can win a majority in the state House of Representives.

Support for recreational legalization is much lower among Republicans than Democrats, which in part explains why red states still have some of the most restrictive marijuana laws in the country.

In both North Dakota and South Dakota, recreational measures were defeated for the third time in 2024. It remains to be seen whether supporters think it’s worth the time and money to try again.

In Florida, the measure failed despite the majority of voters supporting it. State law requires amendments to pass with 60% of the vote, and the measure got approximately 56%.

Medical marijuana has more support. In Nebraska, the two medical measures passed decisively. However, legal challenges could void the results. Things will remain uncertain for weeks or even months, as any decision will probably be appealed to the state Supreme Court.

The red wall fortified by a red wave

In national elections, it was a good night for Republicans.

Former President Donald Trump won a decisive victory and will return to the White House. Republicans will control the U.S. Senate, though they won’t have the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. The day after the election, it is still unclear whether Republicans will control the U.S. House.

Trump will have the opportunity to set the political agenda in Washington, including for cannabis. He has voiced support for some legalization measures in the past, such as creating safety regulations, rescheduling, preserving states’ rights to pass their own laws and decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana for personal use.

But cannabis legalization was not a priority during his campaign or his previous presidency. Though Trump backed Amendment 3 for recreational use in Florida, his support was tepid compared with priority issues like immigration. The fact that the measure failed and is unpopular within the Republican Party does not create much incentive for him to put the issue at the top of his agenda once he returns to office.

What happens now?

Where the legalization movement goes from here is unclear.

The ballot initiative process has been a key tool of the movement, providing activists with a way to bypass elected officials who oppose legalization. But the results of the Nov. 5 elections suggest that this strategy may no longer be viable in red wall states. This is particularly the case when state officials are committed to keeping legalization measures from being implemented even if they pass, as happened in South Dakota in 2020 and is currently happening in Nebraska.

The failed initiative in Arkansas is also significant. On the surface it was a bill to expand and enhance medical access. But it also included a novel provision that would automatically legalize recreational use in the state in the event federal legalization were to happen.

It was this provision, and the failure to highlight it in the proposed amendment’s name and title, that prompted the state Supreme Court to label the measure “misleading” and prevent the votes on it from being counted.

Given that medical cannabis legalization remains significantly more popular than recreational, this strategy made sense in a red state like Arkansas. Had it been successful, it would have provided a new way for activists to navigate the unique challenges posed by red wall states.

Looking ahead, legalization supporters will have to wait and see what’s possible once Trump is in office. The federal rescheduling process that began under President Joe Biden might still go through. If it does, it would move cannabis to Schedule III from Schedule I, the status reserved for substances like heroin and LSD that are considered to have the least medical benefit and highest potential for misuse. But it would not resolve the gaps between state and federal law in states where cannabis is legal.

It also would not create an obvious path toward recreational cannabis legalization – and might even hinder it further. This is because Schedule III drugs include substances like Tylenol with codeine and ketamine – both of which are legally available but require a prescription and are tightly regulated.

This is a far cry from the “regulate it like alcohol” strategy that helped recreational legalization gain a foothold 10 years ago.

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s return to the presidency could set the stage for sweeping changes in U.S. education policy.

Throughout his campaign, Trump has vowed to “save American education,” with a focus on parental rights and universal school choice — offering a sharp contrast to the Biden administration’s education record.

With Trump’s White House victory cemented, here’s a look at where he stands on education:

Getting rid of U.S. Education Department

Perhaps Trump’s most far-reaching plan for education includes his vow to close down the U.S. Department of Education.

The department — just 45 years old — is not in charge of setting school curriculum, as education is decentralized in the United States. The agency’s mission is to “promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.”

Trump has repeatedly called for moving education “back to the states,” though the responsibility of education already mainly falls on states and local governments, which allocate much of the funding for K-12 schools.

Funding boosts

Trump has proposed funding boosts for states and school districts that comply with his vision for education, including adopting a “Parental Bill of Rights that includes complete curriculum transparency, and a form of universal school choice,” according to his plan.

He also wants to give funding preferences to schools who get rid of “teacher tenure” for grades K-12 and adopt “merit pay.”

He could also ramp up funding for schools that have parents hold the direct elections of principals as well as for schools that significantly reduce the number of their administrators.

Trump’s plan also includes the creation of a credentialing body to certify teachers “who embrace patriotic values, and understand that their job is not to indoctrinate children, but to educate them.”

He is also threatening to cut federal funding for schools that teach “critical race theory” or “gender ideology” and vowed to roll back updated Title IX regulations under the Biden administration on his first day back in office.

The updated regulations, which the Biden administration released earlier this year, extend federal protections for LGBTQ+ students.

The final rule rolls back changes to Title IX made under Trump’s previous administration and then-Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

A slew of GOP-led states have challenged the measure, leading to several legal battles and a policy patchwork throughout the country.

Student debt and higher education

Trump has criticized the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness efforts,  describing them as “not even legal,” and could let go of any mass student loan forgiveness efforts.

Trump could repeal the administration’s Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan, which is currently on hold while tied up in a legal challenge. The sweeping initiative seeks to provide lower monthly loan payments for borrowers and lessen the time it takes to pay off their debt.

Meanwhile, the 2024 GOP platform called for making colleges and universities “sane and affordable,” noting that Republicans will “fire Radical Left accreditors, drive down Tuition costs, restore Due Process protections, and pursue Civil Rights cases against Schools that discriminate.”

The platform also calls for reducing the cost of higher education through the creation of “additional, drastically more affordable alternatives to a traditional four-year College degree.”

Trump has also proposed the “American Academy,” a free, online university that he says would be endowed through the “billions and billions of dollars that we will collect by taxing, fining, and suing excessively large private university endowments.”

Project 2025

Apart from the GOP platform and Trump’s proposals, the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 proposes a sweeping conservative agenda that, if implemented, could have major implications for the future of education.

Though Trump has disavowed the conservative think tank’s blueprint, some former members of his previous administration helped craft the agenda.

Some of the education policy proposals outlined in the extensive document include eliminating the U.S. Education Department and Head Start, ending time-based and occupation-based student loan forgiveness and restoring the Title IX regulations made under DeVos.

The proposal also states that “the federal government should confine its involvement in education policy to that of a statistics-gathering agency that disseminates information to the states.”

Major teachers unions react to Trump win

“The voters have spoken. While we hoped and fought for a different outcome, we respect both their will and the peaceful transfer of power,” Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, one of the largest teachers unions in the country, said in a Wednesday statement.

“At this moment, the country is more divided than ever, and our democracy is in jeopardy. Last night, we saw fear and anger win,” Weingarten said.

Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, the country’s largest labor union, said in a statement Wednesday that “this is not the outcome we campaigned for, nor the future we wanted for our students and families, but it is the road through history we now must travel.” 

Last updated 3:38 p.m., Nov. 6, 2024

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – Put simply, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, or PCOS, is a hormonal imbalance that affects a woman’s menstrual cycle and can cause ovarian cysts. Even though about one in every 10 women have this condition globally, it can be difficult to get diagnosed or receive treatment.

For Ariana Knudsen, trips to the coffee shop weren’t always so simple. Since she was 14 years old, her menstrual cycles have been irregular. Doctors told her everything was normal.

“At 14, I’m on birth control— that’s insane to me, especially now that I’m 28, and thinking back on it, I was on birth control for almost 10 years,” Knudsen said.

She said she’s tried almost all forms of birth control. At first, the new medication would help regulate her cycle, but eventually, she’d go back to having super short cycles or double periods.

She was on birth control for six years before getting an ultrasound.

Years later, while removing Knudsen’s gallbladder, surgeons discovered a massive cyst on her right ovary.

Eventually, they recommended surgery to remove the cyst. However, during her senior year of high school, things took an even deeper nose-dive. Two hours before her scheduled operation, Knudsen went to the emergency room for severe pain.

“They were going to go in and try to just remove the cyst and save the ovary if possible, but it had started from the inside out, so it had completely killed off my right ovary. So, there was no saving it,” Knudsen said.

She was 17 years old. At 28, she still feels the impacts of her condition. She’s had over 12 iron infusions— all her irregular cycles have made her anemic. Doctors even thought she might have a brain tumor because of her elevated prolactin levels. An MRI showed that wasn’t the case. Knudsen started seeing Dr. Tara Harding at Simply You Wellness, who specializes in women’s health.

“The lack of diagnosing of it, or perhaps patients were told, ‘It looks like PCOS,’ or ‘it might be PCOS,’ and they’re getting very inconsistent information,” Knudsen said.

Knudsen said other women going through similar experiences shouldn’t be afraid to stand up for themselves and to trust their instincts.

“You’re worth more than just giving up on yourself, because I was at that point, to be honest. […] Trust your body. You know yourself better than anyone else,” Knudsen said.

She said she knew when she was 17 that it would be difficult to start a family after her surgery. After getting help for her PCOS, though, she and her husband are expecting their first bundle of joy.

Dr. Harding said that along with irregular or inconsistent periods, acne, unexplained weight changes and more can all be symptoms of PCOS.

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