Massachusetts became the first East Coast state to legalize marijuana after voters approved the measure in 2016. Arizona voted in 2020 to legalize cannabis for all adults over the age of 21. As more states legalize medical and recreational marijuana, more lawmakers want to adjust federal laws so they don`t conflict with state regulations. A number of bills introduced in the House and Senate would deal with various aspects of marijuana legalization, from criminal to financial. The law is more permissive than other states where marijuana is legal: most allow residents to possess up to 1 ounce at a time. Canada legalized marijuana nationwide in 2018, but the U.S. hasn`t followed suit. Marijuana is still considered an illegal Schedule I drug by the U.S. government.
Recently, a number of populous states have legalized medical and recreational cannabis, including New York and New Jersey. Rhode Island joined the herd in May. Gallup`s research also found that nearly half (46%) of U.S. adults say they have tried marijuana even though it`s registered as a Schedule I controlled substance by the federal government, and 68% think it should be legalized. In addition, the District of Columbia and the territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have legalized medical marijuana. In South Dakota, voting measures on medical and recreational cannabis passed in the 2020 election, despite the state Supreme Court overturning the state`s recreational law last year. Insiders don`t include South Dakota in our list of markets where the substance is legal for recreational use, even though it`s back on the ballot for this year`s election. Adults 21 and older can light up in Alaska. In 2015, the northernmost state in the U.S.
legalized residents to use, possess and transport up to an ounce of marijuana — about a full sandwich bag — for recreational purposes. The first pot store opened in 2016. Residents of the capital voted overwhelmingly in November 2014 to legalize marijuana for adults. Montana voted in 2020 to legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older. This brings to 21 the number of states where recreational pot is legal – and opposition to the concept is waning. Legal weed sales are expected to exceed $33 billion this year. First published in January 2018, this article has been updated with new information on where cannabis is legal. It was last updated on May 27. Melia Russell contributed to an earlier version of this story. Adults in Green Mountain State can carry up to 1 ounce of marijuana and grow no more than two plants recreationally.
The law came into force in July 2018. But its scope was limited. It has not created a legal market for the manufacture and sale of the drug. Since 2012, 19 states and Washington, D.C. have legalized marijuana for adults over the age of 21. And 38 states and D.C. have legalized medical marijuana — meaning a majority of Americans have access to cannabis, whether medical or recreational. Four of the five states that voted on the issue on Tuesday were won by Donald Trump in the 2020 election. All five states also currently have legal medical marijuana programs.
In 2013, President Barack Obama directed the Justice Department to contact state authorities in jurisdictions that had legalized marijuana “based on assurances that those states will implement a sufficiently stringent regulatory system.” RECORD – Good Leaf Dispensary employee measures marijuana for reserve customer Mohawks call Akwesasne on March 14, 2022 in St. Regis, NY. Pot is once again a popular topic on the ballot in the November election. Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota have measures on their ballots to change their constitutions and legalize recreational marijuana for people 21 and older. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, folder) South Dakota voted to legalize medical and recreational cannabis in 2020, the first time a state voted for both at the same time. A majority of Virginia state legislatures have approved Governor Ralph Northam`s proposal to legalize the use, possession and cultivation of marijuana on July 1, years ahead of schedule. In 1996, California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana. California became even more cannabis-friendly in 2016 when it legalized the use and transportation of up to 1 ounce of marijuana. That directive, known as the Cole memo, was struck down in 2018 by Jeff Sessions, attorney general under President Donald Trump. Supporters of marijuana legalization have encouraged President Joe Biden to order current Attorney General Merrick Garland to reinstate the Cole memo.
The number of states that have legalized recreational use has steadily increased over the past 10 years. New York was the 15th district of New York City. State, which legalized weed last year, but retail sales in the state aren`t expected to begin until late 2022 at the earliest. Every state on this list had approved the use of cannabis for medical purposes prior to full legalization. Nearly a decade has passed since voters in Colorado and Washington voted at the ballot box to legalize recreational marijuana use. Since then, sixteen states and the District of Columbia have followed suit. New Jersey, which voted for legalization in 2020, approved its first legal sale of marijuana to adults 21 and older on April 21, a day after the annual celebration of cannabis cultivation. All but a handful of states have approved its medical use, and legalization of the substance at the federal level has gained new momentum. The House of Representatives recently passed a bill to decriminalize marijuana, and another bill that would legalize the plant is being drafted in the Senate.
As of October 2022, 38 states have legalized the medical use of cannabis to varying degrees, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws: Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia. Recreational cannabis is now legal in the state and adults are allowed to possess or consume up to 1.5 ounces of marijuana. The sale is not expected until late 2022, according to the state`s official website. While a significant number of voters legalized marijuana possession in 2020, the law was struck down by the state Supreme Court. This time, they were less enthusiastic about the idea, rejecting it by 52% to 47% of the vote. Each jurisdiction has its own criteria regarding the conditions under which cannabis can be prescribed, the procedure for licensing marijuana for medical purposes, and the amount that can be sold. Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee signed the legalization of marijuana on Wednesday, May 25, though it will be a few months before cannabis stores are allowed to open. On June 18, 2021, the Connecticut legislature legalized cannabis for adults 21 and older, and the law went into effect on July 1. Recreational marijuana was already legal in 19 states. All but two states allow it for medical purposes, although it remains federally illegal on both counts. That gap “creates confusion and uncertainty,” they said — and raises many questions in areas ranging from small business growth to public safety. Supporters of legalization hope the bill will pass this session while Democrats still hold the Senate.
McConnell would never bring those things to the ground,” Schumer said last year, according to Politico. “We`re going to go ahead and try to do this as quickly as possible.” Marijuana was legalized for recreational use in Washington in 2012. Vermont was the first state to legalize marijuana through the legislature, rather than a voting initiative, when Republican Gov. Phil Scott signed law into law in January 2018. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 19 states and the District of Columbia have legalized the use of adult recreational marijuana: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. Marijuana is also legal for medical purposes in all of these places. Oklahoma state officials took too long to certify the petition`s signatures for a recreational marijuana measure to be presented to voters in November. In September, the state Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the question should be on the ballot in the near future. Recreational cannabis is also legal in Washington, DC, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.