Election 2014: Marijuana Laws

Recreational Marijuana:  Alaska, the District of Columbia, and Oregon on November 4th became the latest US jurisdictions to legalize recreational marijuana.  The vote in DC, however, must be approved by Congress so it may not go through.

Medical Marijuana:  The US territory of Guam also approved medical marijuana.  The majority of Florida voters did vote to approve medical marijuana in the Sunshine State, but the vote narrowly missed the 60% of votes cast needed to approve medical marijuana in Florida.

Minority Majority States

In demography you lately hear the term majority minority state.  This is a state where non-Hispanic Whites make up less than 50% of the population and where combined minority populations make up the majority.

If we only look at US Census Bureau data for race, Whites represent a minority population only in Hawaii and the District of Columbia.  Minorities make up 42-43% of the populations of California, Maryland, Georgia, and Mississippi, but still are not likely to break the 50% mark in the next few years.

If we add in ethnicity along with race, then more states are minority majority states.  You can be of any race and be Hispanic using the US Census definitions of race and ethnicity.  Thus, many Whites Americans are Hispanic.  In New Mexico, 45% of the population report they are Hispanic.

Adding up all the Americans who belong to racial minorities or are Hispanic Whites will produce four states where racial and ethnic minorities combined are the majority:

• Hawaii
• California
• New Mexico
• Texas

plus

• District of Columbia

Where the Big Families Are

This map is somewhat deceptive.  The average American household size in 2010 was 2.5 people per household.  The smallest average household size is among the densely urban District of Columbia (2.11 people per household) and rural, sparsely populated North Dakota (2.3 people per household).  Utah with its higher percentage of children has the largest households at 3.1 people per household.  So, there is not a huge difference between 2.11 and 3.1.

This map though shows the statistical standard deviations between the states (with DC excluded because it is such an outlier).  Still, you are going to find larger households on average in California, Utah, Texas, and Hawaii.  The western states in general plus Georgia and the large metropolitan suburbs in Maryland and New Jersey also attract larger households.