Where is pot legal in us

The commercial market is expected to be up and running by May Half of the available business licenses will be earmarked for social equity applicants, whom the state will offer technical training and financial assistance.

A large portion of the tax revenue generated from commercial cannabis would be invested in communities impacted by the War on Drugs. Connecticut has maintained a medical marijuana system for nearly a decade, with more than 50, patients currently enrolled in the program for a wide range of reasons.

It came as no surprise when the state legalized recreational use this summer, especially considering nearby New Jersey and New York had done so in the past year. Delaware legalized cannabis for medicinal use way back in , although home cultivation is not allowed. In March, a poll by medical cannabis advocacy group Florida for Cares found that 58 percent of Floridians are in favor of the state legalizing the drug for adult use.

THC products are very much illegal. In , over 50, cannabis arrests were made in the state, which had the 5th-highest cannabis-related arrest rate in the nation. In , Democrats in the state legislature introduced the Georgia Justice Act, which would decriminalize low-level possession.

The legislature is still, however, controlled by Republicans. Medical cannabis is legal and possession of less than three grams of cannabis was decriminalized in , but Hawaii does not have a recreational program. Lawmakers are trying to change that. In February, two bills were approved by a Senate committee, one to increase the decriminalization threshold from three grams to an ounce, and one to legalize cannabis for adult use.

Things are not moving in the right direction in Idaho. Not only is anything with a trace of THC illegal, in February the state Senate voted to write cannabis prohibition into the Constitution, which would effectively prevent residents from voting to legalize it.

The fight over legalization in Illinois came down not to if, but how. Chicago, perhaps the most segregated city in the U. The result was one of the most progressive legalization plans of its time when it was signed in Not only did it legalize for adults, it guaranteed expungement or pardons for anyone with a low-level nonviolent conviction nearly half a million people were able to have their records cleared as of December Some jurisdictions have taken it a step further, funneling pot revenue directly into the communities that were targeted.

Indiana is very Republican, and cannabis is very illegal there. Though Governor Eric Holcombe signed a bill to legalize CBD in , penalties are still harsh for anything containing more than. Medicinal cannabis is legal in Iowa, but the program is pretty limited. Only around 5, Iowans have medical cards, and patients are not permitted to use flower. All cannabis is illegal in Kansas, but in February Democratic Governor Laura Kell proposed legalizing it for medicinal use to help expand Medicaid.

Weeks later, lawmakers introduced a bill to do just that. The problem is the state Senate, which is controlled by Republicans and declined to take up a similar medical cannabis bill passed by the House in Two-thirds of Louisiana voters are in favor of recreational cannabis in the state, but so far, legalization efforts are slow going.

The state enacted medical cannabis laws way back in , but it took until for a comprehensive program to be established. Even then, patients were only allowed tinctures for a limited number of conditions. Gummies and some other extracts have since been allowed, though, and in June of Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards signed a bill legalizing smokeable cannabis for medicinal purposes. A week earlier, he signed a bill decriminalizing possession. Already, though, some in the state — which has had a medical program since , reliant mostly on small growers — worry that change is happening too fast.

Big, multi-state cannabis companies are targeting the state brand names like Keef are already on dispensary shelves leaving some to worry that the mom-and-pop legacy will be lost.

Two bills, both focused on social equity, progressed through the state legislature this year, but after each getting a single committee hearing, neither advanced. Lawmakers have said they will try again next year. Even now, rollout of retail shops has been slow, with only 77 licensed recreational dispensaries open as of October. As a result, the number of patients in the program grew to over , in , up from 67, the year before.

Michiganders voted overwhelmingly to legalize cannabis for recreational use in , with the first dispensaries opening up a little over a year later. Possession of up to 2. Public consumption, however, is not permitted. Last October, Governor Gretchen Whitmer was able to sign legislation that allows residents with low-level cannabis convictions to have their records expunged. Minnesota, which has had medically legal weed since , is currently putting an adult-use legalization bill through the ringer.

I thought we had done everything right. Lawmakers have since been exploring ways to implement a medicinal program like the one voters approved last fall, but for now cannabis is still fully illegal in the state. The party does have at least one legalization advocate. Shamad Dogan said earlier this year in proposing a constitutional amendment to legalize cannabis.

Montana was one of the five states that voted in favor of cannabis ballot initiatives last November. Adults 21 and over are allowed to possess up to one ounce of flower and eight grams of THC concentrate, and four plants per individual eight per household may be cultivated at home.

Actually passing anything is going to be difficult in the Republican-controlled state, though, so Democrats are aiming to let the people decide.

Cannabis advocates in the state legislature want to get measures to legalize for recreational use and medicinal use on the ballot in It could happen. Last November, South Dakota, a state every bit as red as Nebraksa, voted in favor of dual ballot measures to legalize.

Nevada legalized for recreational use through a ballot measure back in Adults over 21 are able to possess up to an ounce of flower and 3. Since , 18 states and Washington, DC, have legalized marijuana for adults over the age of And 37 states have legalized medical marijuana — meaning that a majority of Americans have access to cannabis, whether medically or recreationally.

Three states—New Mexico, Virginia, and South Dakota—passed legalization in recent months, and the laws took effect in late June and early July. In South Dakota, medical and recreational cannabis ballot measures passed in the November elections. But only the medical program appears to be underway as recreational marijuana faces challenges. In New Mexico, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a legalization bill into law in April.

Retail sales are set to begin next year, though state residents are now able to grow and possess marijuana as of June Virginia legalized cannabis through its legislature in April. The law took effect on July 1, though marijuana sales won't begin in the state until On June 18, the Connecticut legislature legalized cannabis for adults 21 and over. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill legalizing marijuana on March His move came shortly after New Jersey Gov.

Phil Murphy signed legislation officially legalizing marijuana in his state. New Jersey was one of four states, along with Arizona, Montana, and South Dakota, where voters backed legalizing recreational cannabis in November. Voters in Mississippi approved the creation of a medical cannabis program. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed a bill legalizing medical marijuana in the state in May, though patients aren't expected to have access to cannabis until next year.

Some states that passed medical or recreational legislation through ballot measures have yet to iron out the details.

For that reason, Insider does not include South Dakota in its tally of markets where the substance is legal for recreational use. Likewise, Mississippi's medical program has faced challenges after the election. Canada legalized marijuana federally in , but US has not followed suit, forcing states to chart their own courses.

As it stands, marijuana is still considered an illegal Schedule I drug by the US government. This article was first published in January and has been updated with new information about where cannabis is legal.

It was last updated on July 8 after legalization officially took place in New Mexico, Connecticut, and Virginia. Melia Russell contributed to an earlier version of this story. Adults 21 and over can light up in Alaska. In , the northernmost US state made it legal for residents to use, possess, and transport up to an ounce of marijuana — roughly a sandwich bag full — for recreational use.

The first pot shop opened for business in Alaska has pounced on the opportunity to make its recreational-pot shops a destination for tourists. Arizona in voted to legalize cannabis for all adults over the age of The ballot measure was backed by a number of cannabis giants, including Curaleaf, Cresco, and Harvest Enterprises. The Arizona Department of Health Services began accepting applications for adult-use licenses on January Approvals were issued just three days later on January Sales began immediately.

Arizona rolled out adult-use sales faster than any other state that voted to pass recreational cannabis in the November elections. Once Martha Stewart, Elon Musk, and your aunt—not even the eccentric one—started talking about marijuana like it was ibuprofen, it felt like it lost its gloried grunge.

Long gone are the days of dirty bongs, replaced by high-brow smoking accessories and a trove of luxe edibles. Oh, and hundred-thousand-dollar bongs that are coveted like art, because they are art. Weed has a golden cloud around it, where regressive, cobwebbed fears have been replaced by excitement, at least on the grand scale.

Obviously, legalization has a lot to do with that. In the U. Colorado kicked off the movement in In the election, which was bad for most reasons but good for this one, four states got on board, raising the total to eight states to legalize. On Election Day , another four states added their numbers to the growing pack. This March, New York made its long-awaited leap into the legal industry, pushing a progressive bill through the state legislature.

On its heels were Virginia, New Mexico, and Connecticut, all three of which put legalization into effect just in time for America's th birthday party.

More than a third of us Americans live where it's legal. Technically, South Dakota ought to have adult use this year, too, seeing as residents made it one of the four states to vote for legalization last November. But Governor Kristi Noem, who said legal weed is "the wrong choice" for her state, has challenged the initiative and offered decriminalization plus medical marijuana in its stead. South Dakota sanctioned medical use on July 1, but the recreational side of that little courtroom drama is still playing out.

At this point, it's hardly a surprise that yet another state has decided to make itself a haven for marijuana users as well as businesses tapping into the lucrative marijuana market. But as states legalize and business booms, as celebrities dive into the marijuana market and influencers suck on vape pens for the 'gram, the weed industry must contend with vast inequality in America.

Historically, law enforcement grossly targeted minority people, even though white people statistically use marijuana at the same rate. While cannabis brands blossom on social media, people still sit in prison for nonviolent drug offenses.