It's official, California has raised the minimum age for smoking cigarettes from 18 to 21 with hopes to save lives and to pave the way for states across the US to adopt stricter tobacco laws.

The new law will restrict those under 21 to purchase tobacco for smoking, dipping, chewing and vaping. According to ABC12, veterans organizations and Republican lawmakers in California objected to the bill, saying people old enough to die for their country are old enough to use tobacco. This is something that I agree with even though I think moving the legal age limit to 21 is a great move.

Hawaii was the first state to bump up the legal smoking age to 21 and there's been a push for Michigan and other states to do the same. Personally, this law doesn't affect me at all because I don't smoke but if it has a positive affect on the younger generation, I'm all about it.

On the same day that this new law was put in place Cannabis advocates in California, announced that an initiative to legalize pot sales beyond the medical industry has collected enough signatures to appear on the November ballot. The Adult Use of Marijuana Act would allow adults 21 and older to purchase and possess pot, though some critics fear it could increase teen use.

 

 

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