Since medical hashish was first legalized in Colorado in 1996, nearly a portion of the country has legalized recreational marijuana. More states have decriminalized weed or allowed the use of marijuana for medical purposes, and now, the substance could even be reclassified at the federal level. level.
The Justice Department needs to re-establish marijuana as a less harmful class of drug, CBS News previously reported. This policy measure would ease federal restrictions on cannabis, but it would not legalize the substance or decriminalize it nationally.
These maps show which states have legalized medical or recreational marijuana or decriminalized weed as of 2024.
As of April 2024, recreational marijuana is legal in 24 states, almost part of the country, according to the Pew Research Center.
The states where recreational marijuana is legal are Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon. . , Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. Es legal in Washington, D. C.
Recreational use, when legal, is for adults 21 years of age and older.
Medical marijuana is legal in thirteen states. It is also legal in all states where recreational use of weed is allowed.
In Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, and North Dakota, marijuana is allowed for medical purposes. It is also decriminalized for other uses, meaning the substance is still illegal, but the user will not be prosecuted for possessing a certain amount of weed. Penalties for marijuana possession in states where it is decriminalized come with civil penalties or drug abuse remedies.
In Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, and West Virginia, marijuana is allowed for medical purposes. However, it is not decriminalized for other uses and other people can still be prosecuted for possession of marijuana for non-legal purposes. -Medical purposes.
In Nebraska and North Carolina, marijuana is illegal but decriminalized. This means that in any of those states, a user will be subject to consequences and prosecution for certain amounts of marijuana.
In Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin, marijuana is illegal and decriminalized, but CBD products are allowed.
In Idaho, Kansas, South Carolina, and Wyoming, marijuana and all hashish products are illegal and marijuana is decriminalized.
Marijuana is legal in several countries, Canada, Germany, Mexico, South Africa, and Thailand.