A two-part referendum was held in the
United States Virgin Islands on 4 November 2014. Voters were asked whether they approve of extending the
term of office of
Senators from two to four years,
[Legislature puts issue of doubling length of senators' terms to voters]
Virgin Islands Daily News, 27 September 2013 and whether the cultivation and use of
cannabis for medical and research purposes should be allowed.
The proposal to increase senatorial terms was rejected by 82% of voters, while the medical cannabis proposal was approved by 57% of voters.
Background
The proposal to hold a referendum on increasing the term length of Senators was approved by the
Legislature on 27 September 2014 by a vote of 7–6 with one abstention.
[ The proposal would only be implemented if a majority of those voting in the simultaneous general elections.][
In 2012 Senator Terrance Nelson proposed holding referendums on the use of ]medical cannabis
Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana (MMJ), is cannabis and cannabinoids that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restrictions ...
and allowing the production, processing, manufacturing and distributing of industrial hemp. Although the holding of a referendum on medical cannabis referendum was blocked by the Legislature, it did allow a referendum on industrial hemp, which was approved by 57% of voters. Nelson again proposed holding a referendum on medical cannabis in 2014, and this time it was approved by a vote of 12–2. Unlike the term length question, the cannabis one was non-binding.Medical marijuana referendum clears Senate
Virgin Islands Daily News, 29 July 2014
Results
Increasing Senators' term length
Medical cannabis
References
{{US Virgin Islands elections
2014 in the United States Virgin Islands
Referendums in the United States Virgin Islands
2014 referendums