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Timeline of Gallup polls in US on legalizing marijuana. [1]In the United States, cannabis is legal in 39 of 50 states for medical use and 24 states for recreational use. At the federal level, cannabis is classified as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, determined to have a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use, prohibiting its use for any purpose. [2]
Cannabis in California has been legal for medical use since 1996, and for recreational use since late 2016. The state of California has been at the forefront of efforts to liberalize cannabis laws in the United States, beginning in 1972 with the nation's first ballot initiative attempting to legalize cannabis (Proposition 19).
In 1996, California became the first state to legalize medical cannabis, sparking a trend that spread to a majority of states by 2016. In 2012, Washington and Colorado became the first states to legalize cannabis for recreational use.
A man takes a picture of one the cannabis plants on display at the first Cannabis Awards and Exhibit at the California State Fair during media day on Wednesday, July 13, 2022.
In 1996, California became the first state to legalize the medical use of cannabis when voters approved Proposition 215. [74] As of March 2023, thirty-eight states, four out of five permanently inhabited U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia have legalized medical cannabis. [9]
The movement to legalize cannabis in the U.S. was sparked by the 1964 arrest of Lowell Eggemeier, a San Francisco man who walked into the city's Hall of Justice and lit up a joint, requesting to be arrested. [7] As it was a felony to use cannabis in California, Eggemeier was sent to prison where he was held for close to a year. [6]
California marijuana merchants hope the new dispensation will help them compete against unlicensed pot dealers who do not have to collect taxes or comply with burdensome state and local regulations.
In 2016, Californians voted to legalize cannabis products, limiting the buzz factor of products like edible gummies down to the milligram and restricting their sales to adults-only dispensaries ...