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More than half of U.S. adults have tried marijuana, despite it being an illegal drug under federal law. Recreational marijuana, also known as adult-use marijuana, was first legalized in Colorado and Washington in 2012. [43]
Pot. Weed. Ganja. Mary Jane. There are more than a thousand slang terms in the English language to refer to marijuana. A 1943 article in TIME magazine called it muggles, mooter, and bambalacha, and referred to marijuana cigarettes as goof-butts and giggle-smokes. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, use of the word “marijuana” (also written as “marihuana” in older references) came to popularity in the United States in the 1930s as an alternative to the more familiar terms “cannabis” and “hemp.” [88][89][90]
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Cannabis, the scientific name for marijuana, is a plant that has three species (or strains): cannabis indica, cannabis sativa, and the less common cannabis ruderalis. Marijuana and hemp are both cannabis plants, but marijuana contains higher levels of THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol), the primary psychoactive ingredient that causes people to get high. Hemp can be cultivated for industrial uses such as rope and burlap fabric, or for a low-THC, non-psychoactive, medicinal product. The words “cannabis” and “marijuana” are frequently used interchangeably, as are the words “recreational” and “adult-use.”[33][123][245]
Marijuana legalization refers to the practice of allowing and regulating the production, distribution, sale, and possession of cannabis so that marijuana use within the established rules is no longer a crime. There are different models of legalization, including allowing people to grow their own marijuana, nonprofit co-ops, and for-profit commercialization with retail sales. [33][143][150]
While references to marijuana as a popular medicine are found in Chinese writings dating back to 2900 BC, the marijuana plant made its arrival in North America in 1611 thanks to the Jamestown settlers. Early colonists were required to grow hemp. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew hemp for clothing, rope, and fishing nets in the 1770s. By the 1800s, doctors were using cannabis extracts for various ailments, and marijuana was listed in the United States Pharmacopeia as a treatment for opiate addiction, leprosy, cholera, and more. In the mid-1800s, hemp was the third-largest crop in the United States, behind cotton and tobacco. [99][121][177][178][182][246]
At the start of the 20th century, drugs were largely unregulated: beverages including Coca-Cola contained cocaine, heroin was sold as an over-the-counter medicine, and cannabis was readily available in tinctures (concentrated liquid extracts). The 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act, which specifically mentioned cannabis indica, kicked off drug regulation in the United States by requiring ingredient labeling in drugs and food. The 1914 Harrison Narcotics Act, which regulated and taxed opiates and cocaine, was soon followed by the 1919 prohibition of alcohol.[189][190][191][192]
Mexican immigrants entered the United States in record numbers following the 1910 Mexican Revolution. They reportedly introduced Americans to smoking marijuana for recreational purposes. Around the same time, sailors and West Indian immigrants brought marijuana from the Caribbean into North America via New Orleans. In the 1920s and 1930s, recreational cannabis use became associated with the jazz, and the famous trumpet player Louis Armstrong was an early advocate for marijuana. [179][187][188]
The rise of the word “marijuana” (from the Spanish “marihuana”) as a replacement for the then-familiar terms cannabis and hemp is often attributed to prohibitionists, including Harry Anslinger, the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. Anslinger worked to associate cannabis with demeaning or racist stereotypes about Mexican immigrants and other minorities. [155][163][169][175][179][184][193][198]
Following the 1933 repeal of alcohol prohibition, Anslinger focused on fighting marijuana, which had already been banned in 29 states by 1931. He tried to turn public opinion against cannabis with inflammatory rhetoric: “There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the U.S., and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others.” His efforts were aided by a 1936 anti-marijuana public service film, Reefer Madness (originally titled Tell Your Children and considered a cult classic as one of the worst films ever made), as well as by newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst, who famously printed articles designed to foster fear of the drug. [169][194][195][196][197][198]
The 1937 Marihuana Tax Act effectively outlawed cannabis use in the United States by adding strict regulations and prohibitive taxes that made marijuana too expensive to buy or sell legally. It became a federal crime to possess marijuana, including hemp, without having the required tax stamps. Importers and manufacturers of marijuana were required to pay an annual tax of $24 (more than $500 in 2025 dollars). Transfers of marijuana to non-registered people were subject to a tax of up to $100 per ounce (more than $2,200 in 2025 dollars). Legal transfers of marijuana involved special order forms and strict record keeping. Violations of the Act were subject to fines of up to $2,000 ($44,000 in 2025 dollars) and five years in prison. In October 1937, Samuel Caldwell became the first marijuana seller convicted under US federal law and was sentenced to four years of hard labor at Leavenworth Penitentiary. [178][194][199][200][201][202][203][204][205]
In 1938, New York City Mayor Fiorella La Guardia directed the New York Academy of Medicine to research marijuana. Their report became one of the first comprehensive reviews of the drug’s impact. The 1944 La Guardia report concluded that “The practice of smoking marihuana does not lead to addiction…. Marihuana is not the determining factor in the commission of major crimes.…The publicity concerning the catastrophic effects of marihuana smoking in New York City is unfounded.” The findings infuriated Commissioner Anslinger, who denounced the report as a “government-printed invitation to youth and adults—above all teenagers—to go ahead and smoke all the reefers they feel like.” The report did not alter federal marijuana policy. [206][207][208][209][210]
Marijuana remained popular with musicians, artists, writers, and others throughout the 1940s and 1950s. However, marijuana use became more widespread among upper-middle class white Americans and common on college campuses in the 1960s alongside the rise of the hippie counterculture and Vietnam War protests. Efforts to re-legalize marijuana grew stronger. The 1965 arrest of Timothy Leary, a Harvard psychologist who experimented with hallucinogens and became a counterculture icon, led to the Marihuana Tax Act being overruled by the Supreme Court in 1969. The court agreed with Leary’s argument that the law violated his fifth amendment right against self-incrimination because he wouldn’t have been able to follow the law’s registration requirements without admitting to breaking state marijuana bans, thus incriminating himself. [33][177][194][209][211]
In 1970, President Nixon signed the bill that makes marijuana illegal under federal law to this day. As a party to the 1961 Single Convention Treaty, the United States was required to limit marijuana use “exclusively to medical and scientific purposes.” That obligation was implemented with the 1970 Controlled Substance Act (CSA). Under the CSA, drugs were put into one of five categories based on their medical use and potential for abuse. Marijuana was placed in the most restrictive category, Schedule I, which was designated for “drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse,” along with heroin and LSD. Drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine were placed in the less restrictive Schedule II. [139][177][209][212][213]
Marijuana’s placement in Schedule I was supposed to be temporary pending a federal review by the newly formed National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Policy (more commonly known as the Shafer Commission). The commission’s 1972 report concluded that “neither the marihuana user nor the drug itself can be said to constitute a danger to public safety” and recommended that marijuana possession for personal use no longer be considered a criminal offense. President Nixon’s response was, “[R]eading it did not change my mind. I oppose the legalization of marijuana.” Regardless of the commission’s recommendation, marijuana was left in Schedule I. [169][214][224][225][226]
In the same year that the CSA was enacted (1970), the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) was founded to advocate for the end of marijuana prohibition. Between 1973 and 1981, the organization successfully fought to get minor marijuana offenses decriminalized in 11 states and lower penalties for marijuana possession in other states. The organization, headquartered in D.C., is still in operation. [209][217]
A policy of decriminalization was adopted in the Netherlands in 1976 for what the country deemed “soft drugs,” which included cannabis. Under the Dutch Opium Act, possession of less than five grams of marijuana is presumed to be for personal use and is therefore not prosecuted. The law also allows for coffee shops where people can buy and use cannabis. Decriminalization of marijuana means people don’t get arrested for possessing small amounts of marijuana but may be required to pay a civil fine rather than facing criminal charges. This is a step towards loosening marijuana prohibition, but it is not considered to be legalization. Some marijuana legalization opponents advocate for decriminalization instead. [216][218][219]
In the 1980s, a rise in parent groups concerned about the increase in teen drug use coincided with the election of President Ronald Reagan, who declared a “war on drugs” in 1982, echoing the phrase popularized by Nixon. First Lady Nancy Reagan spearheaded the “Just Say No” campaign aimed at convincing kids not to use drugs and seeking to overturn lenient drug laws. Parent lobbying groups such as the National Federation of Parents for Drug-Free Youth, now known as National Family Partnership, established a presence in D.C., to advocate for anti-drug legislation. Throughout the 1980s, federal and state criminal penalties for marijuana became stricter and mandatory-minimum sentences were established.[169][177][220][221][222][223]
Marijuana arrests increased dramatically in the 1990s, more than doubling between 1990 and 2002, from 327,000 to 697,000 annually. In New York City, marijuana arrests jumped 882 percent in that period. A report from the Sentencing Project stated, “Our analysis indicates that the ‘war on drugs’ in the 1990s was, essentially, a ‘war on marijuana.’” At the same time, public opinion was shifting in favor of medical marijuana. In 1996, California became the first state to legalize marijuana for medical purposes when voters passed Proposition 215. By the end of 2000, eight states had legalized medical marijuana. By 2017, 29 states and Washington, D.C., had legalized the drug for medical use. [227]
Although a 2010 California proposition to legalize adult-use marijuana failed, measures to legalize recreational marijuana were on the ballots in three states two years later, in November 2012. While Oregon voters turned down the measure, Colorado and Washington became the first two U.S. states to legalize adult-use marijuana. [228][229][230][231][232]
Support for legalizing recreational marijuana increased as more people, including many who had never tried marijuana, believed that marijuana use was not as dangerous as the government reported and not a gateway to using harder drugs. People were also becoming unhappy with the sheer cost of enforcing marijuana laws and the growing prison populations, especially among minority populations. Plus, more people were exposed to marijuana and “out-in-the-open” marijuana users thanks to liberalized marijuana policies in medical marijuana states. Younger generations were increasingly more likely to support legalization. [180][215]
By 2025, D.C. and 24 states had legalized recreational marijuana. For more on the state laws, see State-by-State Recreational Marijuana Laws.
In a 2013 communication from President Obama’s Justice Department known as the Cole memo, Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole stated that as long as states had good regulations, then the federal government would hold off on challenging marijuana legalization. As a result, marijuana retail stores opened in Colorado on January 1, 2014, allowing adults age 21 and older to purchase cannabis that is taxed and regulated under state law. Washington’s marijuana shops opened on July 8, 2014. [209][233][234]
The election of President Donald Trump in 2016 and his appointment of Jeff Sessions as U.S. Attorney General in 2017 raised new questions about whether the federal government would crack down on states that were legalizing adult-use marijuana. On January 4, 2018, Sessions issued a memo that undid the hands-off policy enacted by the Obama Administration and instructed federal prosecutors to determine for themselves when to prosecute marijuana activities. [176][181]
On June 7, 2018, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Cory Gardner (R-CO) introduced the Strengthening the Tenth Amendment through Entrusting States (STATES) Act, which they said “ensures that each State has the right to determine for itself the best approach to marijuana within its borders.” Asked about the legislation, President Trump said, “I support Senator Gardner. I know exactly what he’s doing. We’re looking at it. But I probably will end up supporting that, yes.” The bill did not advance. [247][248]
President Trump signed the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (known as the Farm Bill) into law on December 20, 2018. This law legalized industrial hemp that contains less than 0.3 percent THC by removing it from the Controlled Substances Act. Cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) remain federally illegal to include in food or health products without FDA approval, even if they were derived from hemp.[253]
On December 4, 2020, the US House of Representatives passed a marijuana decriminalization bill (228-164) that would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act and add a 5 percent tax on marijuana to help people most affected by marijuana criminalization and to fund community and small business grants. Though the bill did not pass the Republican-controlled Senate, it was the first time either chamber has passed such an act. The legislation was led by Representative Jerry Nadler (D-NY) with Senator and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris (D-CA). [257]
In a largely partisan vote, the US House of Representatives voted 220 to 204 to decriminalize marijuana on April 1, 2022. Tom McClintock (R-CA), Brian Mast (R-FL), and Matt Gaetz (R-FL) crossed party lines to support the bill, while Henry Cuellar (D-TX) and Chris Pappas (D-NH) voted against decriminalization. If passed by the Senate, the bill would “prevent federal agencies from denying federal workers security clearances for cannabis use, and will allow the Veterans’ Administration to recommend medical marijuana to veterans living with posttraumatic stress disorder, plus gains revenue by authorizing a sales tax on marijuana sales” and “expunge … the record of people convicted of non-violent cannabis offenses.” However, neither the House bill nor a similar bill in the Senate garnered enough Republican votes to be passed. [267]
On October 6, 2022, President Joe Biden announced he would pardon thousands of people with federal and D.C. marijuana simple possession convictions and review marijuana’s federal drug scheduling. In a Twitter thread on @potus and video on @whitehouse, Biden stated: “Sending people to jail for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives—for conduct that is legal in many states. That’s before you address the clear racial disparities around prosecution and conviction. Today, we begin to right these wrongs. I’d also like to note that as federal and state regulations change, we still need important limitations on trafficking, marketing, and underage sales of marijuana. As I’ve said before, no one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana. Today, I’m taking steps to end our failed approach.” The White House Twitter account added, “Additionally, @POTUS asked @SecBecerra and the Attorney General to initiate the process of reviewing how marijuana is scheduled under federal law. Marijuana wasclassified at the same level as heroin – and above fentanyl.”[268][269]
A letter dated August 29, 2023, from the Department of Health and Human Services to Anne Milgram, Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), was leaked to Bloomberg News. The letter called for rescheduling marijuana as a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act. The DEA confirmed receipt of the letter to Bloomberg News and indicated that the department would now conduct its own review based on the recommendation. Marijuana is currently a Schedule I drug (grouped with heroin, LSD, and ecstasy). Schedule III drugs (like ketamine) may be obtained with a prescription. [275]
On December 18, 2025, President Donald Trump signed “Increasing Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research,” which requires that the “the Attorney General shall take all necessary steps to complete the rulemaking process related to rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III of the CSA in the most expeditious manner in accordance with Federal law.” The order does not legalize or decriminalize marijuana. [290]
Only a handful of countries have fully legalized recreational marijuana: Canada (2018), Germany(2024), Luxembourg (2023), Malta (2021), and Uruguay (2013). [280]
In a few other countries, including but not limited to Estonia, Georgia, Mexico, Netherlands, Slovenia, South Africa, and Spain, adult-use marijuana is decriminalized, meaning possession and consumption of marijuana are legal but selling or buying it is illegal. Some countries with decriminalized marijuana allow cultivation, others do not. [259][260][262][263][280]
People buying marijuana on the street have no way of knowing if what they’re ingesting is covered with mold, fungus, pesticides, or other harmful substances. Once marijuana is legalized, the government is able to enforce laboratory testing and regulations to ensure that marijuana is free of toxins. For example, Washington law requires health warnings, quality assurance, labeling for the concentration of THC, and other important regulations for consumers.[9] [10][11]
Further, legalization comes with regulations to prevent kids’ exposure to marijuana, including child-resistant packaging, such as the regulations implemented in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska. Legalization allows the government to set age restrictions on buyers and to license and regulate the entire supply chain of marijuana, including growers, distributors, retailers, and testing laboratories. California regulations include limitations on the serving sizes for edible marijuana products, seed-to-sale testing and tracking, and 24-hour video surveillance at retail stores. [12][13][14]
Due in part to these regulations, “the rates of marijuana use by young people are falling despite the fact more US states are legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana use and the number of adults using the drug has increased.” Marijuana use among 8th graders in Washington state decreased following legalization in 2012, from 9.8 percent to 7.3 percent in 2014/2016, according to a December 2018 report from RAND. A study from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) found that past-year marijuana use decreased by 17 percent, from 15.8 percent in 2002 to 13.1 percent in 2014, among US kids ages 12 to 17. Colorado teens between ages 12 and 17 reported a nearly 12 percent drop in marijuana use just two years after adult use was legalized, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The Marijuana Policy Project, an organization that leads marijuana legalization campaigns, said, “Study after study has confirmed that marijuana policy reforms do not cause rates of youth marijuana use to increase…. The most in-depth state surveys suggest modest decreases in rates of youth marijuana use in Colorado and Washington.” [37][38][39][40][41][42][254]
Additionally, traffic deaths dropped 11 percent on average in states that legalized medical marijuana. In fact, studies show that drivers under the influence of marijuana tend to be more cautious and take fewer risks than drunk drivers, such as making fewer lane changes and reducing speed. A fact sheet about marijuana’s effects on drivers posted on the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration website stated that “Some drivers may actually be able to improve performance for brief periods by overcompensating for self-perceived impairment.” Benjamin Hansen, an economics professor at the University of Oregon at Eugene who studied traffic deaths post-medical marijuana legalization, concludes, “Public safety doesn’t decrease with increased access to marijuana, rather it improves.” [25][65][66][74]
The fact of the matter is that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol and tobacco, which are already legal. Alcohol and tobacco are known to cause cancer, heart failure, liver damage, and more. According to the CDC, six people die from alcohol poisoning every day and 88,000 people die annually due to excessive alcohol use in the United States. There are no recorded cases of death from marijuana overdose.[46][47][168]
Three to four times as many Americans are dependent on alcohol as on marijuana. A study in the Lancet ranking the harmfulness of drugs put alcohol first as the most harmful, tobacco as sixth, and cannabis eighth. A national poll found that people view tobacco as a greater threat to health than marijuana by a margin of four to one (76 percent vs. 18 percent), and 72 percent of people surveyed saw alcohol use as more dangerous than marijuana use. “In several respects, even sugar poses more of a threat to our nation’s health than pot,” said David L. Nathan, a clinical psychiatrist and president of Doctors for Cannabis Regulation. [33][43][44][48]
Arresting people for marijuana possession costs the United States between $1.19 billion and $6.03 billion annually. These costs include police, judicial, legal, and corrections expenses. Incarcerating marijuana offenders costs the United States an estimated $600 million per year. Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron has estimated that marijuana legalization would save between $7.7 billion and $13.7 billion annually. [21][24][60][61][63]
Instead of arresting people for marijuana, police officers could focus on serious crimes including rape, assault, and homicide. For example, marijuana legalization in Washington significantly freed up law enforcement resources; marijuana possession arrests dropped from 5,531 the year before legalization to 120 the year after. Howard Wooldridge, a former police detective from Michigan who co-founded LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition), said, “Marijuana prohibition is a horrible waste of good police time. Every hour spent looking for pot reduces public safety.”[62][64][169]
Further, statistics show a significant racial disparity in the enforcement of marijuana laws: even though white and black people use marijuana at roughly the same rate, a black person in the United States is 3.73 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession on average. In Iowa, the state with the highest inequity, black people are 8.3 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than white people. In New York City, 15.8 percent of marijuana possession cases involving white people result in conviction, compared to 32.3 percent involving black people and 30 percent involving Hispanics. Marijuana possession convictions can impact people’s ability to get public housing, financial aid for school, loans, and jobs. Margaret Dooley-Sammuli, Criminal Justice and Drug Policy director for the ACLU of California, stated, “Racial disparities in marijuana enforcement are widespread and longstanding.” Legalizing marijuana would help correct the disparity. [21][24][26][27][28]
Legalizing recreational marijuana would also subvert the illegal marijuana market. Data from the U.S. Border Patrol shows that marijuana seizures have decreased by millions of pounds and are at their lowest levels in over a decade, indicating that legal domestic production is decreasing demand for marijuana smuggled in from Mexico. A Mexican cannabis farmer told NPR, “If the US continues to legalize pot, they’ll run us into the ground.” Legalization in Colorado and Washington alone has cost Mexican drug cartels an estimated $2.7 billion in profits. [17][18][19][21]
Finally, studies show that medical marijuana dispensaries decreased crime in their neighborhoods because of an increased security presence and more people walking around the area. Research also indicates that people drink less and alcohol sales drop in places where marijuana is legalized, which in turn decreases crime because the amount of crime and violence caused by alcohol use is ten times higher than by marijuana use; alcohol use is also a factor in around 40 percent of violent crimes, including domestic violence and assault. According to FBI crime statistics, violent crime in Washington decreased in the years after legalization (295.6 violent offenses reported per 100,000 Washington residents in 2011 vs. 284.4 violent offenses per 100,000 people in 2015). [30][31][32][33][35][36]
Taylor West, former deputy director for the National Cannabis Industry Association, said, “We’re not seeing any increase in crime rates through marijuana — we’re seeing lower crime rates, and there are good rational reasons for that: We’re really beginning to cripple the criminal market, which is where violence actually occurs.” [71]
For every $1.00 spent in the marijuana industry, between $2.13 and $2.40 in economic activity is generated for other industries, including but not limited to tourism, banking, real estate, construction, and transportation. The marijuana industry hit $24.6 billion in revenue in 2021, exceeding the market for energy drinks, milk, and orange juice. [1][2][3][7][278]
In Colorado, marijuana brings in three times more tax revenue than alcohol. The state raised $78 million in the first fiscal year after starting retail sales and $129 million the second fiscal year. Washington collected a total of $220 million in tax revenues in its second fiscal year of sales. [15][52][53]
The legal marijuana industry generated $7.2 billion in economic activity in 2016, and added millions of dollars in federal taxes paid by cannabis businesses. A study on adult-use marijuana in Nevada projected $7.5 billion in economic activity over the first seven years of legalization in that state, including $1.7 billion in labor income. A study by the University of California Agricultural Issues Center estimated that the legal marijuana market in California could generate $5 billion annually. [4][5][6][20]
In addition to creating tax revenue, legalizing marijuana creates jobs. As of January 2022, the legal marijuana industry had created 428,059 American jobs, with 107,000 new jobs in 2021 alone, according to the Leafly Jobs Report. The report noted that jobs increased 33 percent from 2020 to 2021, or approximately 280 new jobs per day. 2021 was the fifth consecutive years jobs increased by more than 27 percent. [278]
An economic impact estimate from the Marijuana Policy Group forecast the creation of more than 130,000 jobs in California following legalization. Within a few years of legalization, approximately 18,000 additional full-time jobs were created in Colorado annually, both in the actual marijuana business as well as in related fields such as security and real estate. U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) stated that the cannabis industry in the United States “is expected to produce nearly 300,000 jobs by 2020 and grow to $24 billion by 2025.” [15][20][59]
Further, all of the tax revenue in legal marijuana states provide funding to the police, drug treatment and mental health centers, and housing programs, along with school programs such as anti-bullying campaigns, youth mentoring, and public school grants. “The impact is really felt at the local level. Some counties have done 20 years of infrastructure work in just one year’s time. They’ve provided lunch for kids who need it,” says Brian Vicente, partner at Vicente Sederberg LLC, a law firm specializing in the marijuana industry.[40][50][73]
In Colorado, $40 million of marijuana tax revenue went to public school construction, while $105 million went to housing programs, mental health programs in jails, and health programs in middle schools in 2016-2017. [51][52]
A 2023 Gallup poll found 70 percent support for legalizing marijuana among American adults, up from 12 percent in 1969, the first year the polling company asked about marijuana. The poll first surpassed 50 percent support in 2011. [249][276][281]
According to Gallup, “the transformation in public attitudes about marijuana over the past half-century has mirrored the liberalization of public attitudes about gay rights and the same-sex-marriage movement.” While Democrats (73 percent) have been more likely to back legalization historically, 45 percent of Republicans overall agree with legalization. However, 62 percent of younger Republicans (18 to 29) support legalization for recreational use. [67][276]
NORML, which lobbies for marijuana legalization, states, “Most Americans agree with NORML that responsible marijuana consumers should not be treated like criminals. Eight in ten Americans support the medical use of marijuana, and two-thirds of adults favor legalizing marijuana for adults.” As evidence, 40 states took some action to relax their drug laws (such as decriminalizing or lowering penalties for possession) between 2009 and 2013. And, as of 2025, D.C. and 24 states had legalized recreational marijuana, while D.C. and 39 states had legalized medical marijuana. [69][70][277]
