Throughout his 2024 State of the Union deal with, President Joe Biden affirmed his place that the U.S. wants to vary the best way it polices hashish, stating “‘Nobody ought to be jailed for utilizing or possessing marijuana.” The vast majority of People agree with him, and within the wake of the November 2023 election, when voters within the conservative state of Ohio overwhelmingly voted to legalize the leisure use of hashish, practically half of U.S. states have now legalized the leisure use of hashish.
Ohio was the third state, following Delaware and Minnesota, to move legalization measures in 2023, bringing the variety of states the place leisure use is permitted to 24; hashish (versus THC-free CBD) continues to be (roughly) wholly unlawful in 12 states, whereas the rest enable for authorized medical use, with various restrictions.
Whilst People develop extra divided politically, hashish continues to realize floor with each election cycle—and even in-between. Although nearly all of states which have legalized are usually thought of “blue”—suggesting one political social gathering stays far more chill than the opposite—even Mitch McConnell’s personal Kentucky has legalized hashish for medical use, although the measure doesn’t take impact till 2025.
Whereas Biden has stopped in need of pushing federal legalization, the federal government has made gestures at eradicating the drug’s Schedule I certification beneath the Managed Substances Act, and reclassifying it as Schedule III. For now, weed stays unlawful on the federal stage, and in the identical class as heroin and different medication thought of to have “no medical use” and a excessive potential for abuse and dependence.
Right here’s a rundown of the place weed is authorized for leisure and medical use (and the place it isn’t).
States that legalized weed in 2023
Along with Ohio, which legalized leisure hashish by way of a poll measure, Delaware and Minnesota modified their legal guidelines by way of laws earlier this 12 months.
States which have legalized leisure marijuana
In 24 states, together with 2023’s new additions, weed is handled like alcohol—it’s authorized for adults (21 and over) to buy and is regulated and taxed by the federal government. The specifics of what you should purchase and possess (and the place) fluctuate a bit by state. These states even have medical marijuana.
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Alaska
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Arizona
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California
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Colorado
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Connecticut
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Delaware
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Illinois
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Maine
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Maryland
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Massachusetts
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Michigan
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Minnesota
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Missouri
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Montana
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Nevada
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New Jersey
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New Mexico
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New York
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Ohio
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Oregon
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Rhode Island
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Vermont
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Virginia
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Washington
Leisure weed can be authorized in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.
Areas which have authorized weed however no gross sales
Within the District of Columbia, it’s authorized to own and develop restricted quantities of weed, however there are no business gross sales outdoors of medical marijuana from a restricted variety of licensed dispensaries.
States which have medical hashish legal guidelines
Quite a lot of states have legalized medical marijuana however don’t enable broader leisure use.
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Alabama
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Arkansas
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Delaware*
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Florida
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Hawaii*
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Kentucky
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Louisiana
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Minnesota*
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New Hampshire*
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New Mexico*
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North Dakota*
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South Dakota
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Ohio*
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Oklahoma
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Pennsylvania
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Puerto Rico
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South Dakota
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Utah
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Virginia*
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West Virginia
*In keeping with the Marijuana Coverage Challenge, these states have additionally decriminalized marijuana, lowering or eradicating jail time for possession of restricted quantities of weed.
States which have decriminalized weed
Nebraska and North Carolina have legal guidelines that decriminalize marijuana to a level, which means penalties for first-time possession of small quantities of weed are lowered. Each have a suspended sentence for a primary offense—Nebraska imposes a superb and a attainable drug schooling course. Medical marijuana laws has failed in each states.
States which have (nearly) nothing
The remaining states don’t allow broad medical or leisure marijuana—neither is weed decriminalized—although all apart from Idaho enable entry to low-THC merchandise containing CBD for medical use (which, whereas technically “authorized medical hashish,” isn’t fairly the identical factor as a sturdy authorized medical market).
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Georgia
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Idaho
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Indiana
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Iowa
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Kansas
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Nebraska
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North Carolina
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South Carolina
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Tennessee
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Texas
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Wisconsin
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Wyoming
Initially printed in 2020, this text has been up to date periodically to mirror altering legal guidelines across the nation. It was most just lately up to date in March 2024.
