Over, the past decade, New England has quietly emerged as a center of marijuana law reform. Outside of the West, no other region of the country has matched the advances of that historic corner of America bounded by New York, Canada, and the North Atlantic. Is there something in the maple syrup?

When New England comes to mind, people tend to think of the leaves turning in the fall, the wild and rocky Maine seacoast, Vermont’s Green Mountains, or Boston and its historic role in the American Revolution. But given what the region has accomplished in terms of marijuana policy, perhaps it’s better to think of it as an ongoing social experiment, and the question to ask is: Why New England?

New England consists of six states — Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont — with a combined population of 14.4 million. It is dominated by megalopolitan Boston, whose 7.4 million residents make up more than half the region’s residents. But all six states combined still contain fewer people than Florida, New York, Texas, or California.

READ MORE: New England Swings… On Marijuana Law Reform
The Daily Chronic, March 30, 2011