As a oddment of the legacy of President Nixon and the Controlled Substance Act of 1970 , cannabis plant life are still categorized as Schedule I narcotics at the federal level . Although federal police remains less reformist than state laws , severalstates with sound weedpermit aesculapian or amateur use for citizen .
As of publication , there are currently 24 states — plus the District of Columbia — which have full legalized weed for grownup exercise , while only six states are standing their flat coat with no way to marijuana legalization in the foreseeable future .
Marijuana law are dynamical across all 50 states , and specific laws around the legalization of aesculapian and recreational exercise can quickly change within a state . Although wide-ranging and changing police force can be confusing , it ’s important to search and value the laws within a state if you are a current resident or visiting as a tourist .
What Is the Difference Between Medical Marijuana and Recreational Marijuana?
One of the most important distinctions in commonwealth laws on marijuana focuses on recreational and medical use . Accepted medical marijuana laws provide a effectual elision for citizens smoking marijuana ( or consuming via another method ) for aesculapian purposes .
aesculapian pot laws vary widely , with some permitting home cultivation of marijuana plants , typically with a limit range up to six plant per affected role or household . However , some states , likeSouth CarolinaorTexas , may only allow concentrated cannabis crude oil high in CBD or other byproducts of the cannabis flora .
Recreational marijuana nation laws also vary from universal grownup - use marijuana legalization to strong legalized aesculapian marijuana legislation with a clear way to surpass take medical use .
Revision of state law by ballot measure can take a firm aesculapian plan to a legalized marijuana state in a short time . For lesson , Ohio elector recently passed Section 3780 on December 7 , 2023 , to become the most recent state where it is legal to grow , cultivate , sell and take marijuana .
14 States Where Marijuana Is Legalized for Medical Use
If a commonwealth has firm laws onmedical marihuana use , it allows its citizens to consume marijuana for an take medical use , like to treat symptoms of a chronic aesculapian shape such as glaucoma or cancer .
In these case fume hemp industrial plant and growing aesculapian ganja is legal as long as all stipulations are met . Medical marihuana users may choose to raise a single works outside or take their light-green thumb to the next level with agrow houseto civilise their own medical marijuana .
However , some state aesculapian cannabis police force are either confusing or under threat of reversing . For example , North Dakota , South DakotaandUtahare all states with a medical marihuana law , but recreational marijuana legalisation or legitimate cannabis statutes are still under public debate .
The following state have legalized marijuana for aesculapian use only .
24 States Where Marijuana Is Legalized for Recreational Use
The push to legalize marijuana for commercial-grade production and retail sales for adults 21 and over has become a hot - button yield as DoS with recreational green goddess income have enjoyed increase taxes from sound marijuana sale .
However , these first United States Department of State with legalized recreational cannabis sales have also become the pioneers of marijuana regularization . In most cases , states rely on systems already in place for alcohol sales and depend heavily on government arrangement like the OLCC in Oregon to regulate cannabis and ensure safety for minors .
The adopt state have state - okay recreational marijuana dispensary and have made bounce and boundary on the decriminalize marijuana front .
7 States Where Marijuana Is Decriminalized but Not Fully Legal
dissimilar from legalization , some states have opted to pass law to legalise marijuana without going so far as tolegalizerecreational marijuana .
Typically , decriminalisation would mean that arrest , a prison sentence or a criminal record would not be in the board for a first - prison term offender . willpower of a little amount of marijuana intend for personal white plague could be treated with the severity of a venial dealings intrusion in state or municipalities that have legitimise marijuana .
Some of the State that have decriminalise marijuana have also decriminalise its role , for either medical or amateur purposes , while in other land possession of marihuana is still consider a deplorable offensive activity , but the historical reverberation of gaol time has been transfer .
The following country have legitimatize the possession of marijuana , to varying level .
Ongoing Debates Over Legalizing Marijuana
Although the Union regime still outrank marijuana at the same destructive stage as diacetylmorphine and other hard drug , the growing trend of states moving toward marijuana legalization has pressure the justice department to reassess how they handle certain cannabis offenses in the court of law .
This instance of when astate legal philosophy controvert a U.S. federal lawchallenges governing consistency and can prompt alteration in enforcement .
Union prosecution still leans on the controlled substance legislation in place . However , the Obama governing body start patronage legalize cannabis and cannabis law-breaking record clearance as early as the 2010s .
