States That Have Legalized Recreational Marijuana Use

The oldest known written record on cannabis use comes from the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung in 2727 B.C. and has been used over the years in thousands of different ways. The medicinal uses are well documented, which we’ll discuss in more depth in another article, but it is much more difficult to find information regarding the recreational use of marijuana and cannabis. Unfortunately, politics and legality have dominated most major news outlets when it comes to marijuana use.

This website at Procon, has a whole lot of great information on State By State legalization. See their chart here.

Marijuana, though, is widely used throughout the world for recreational use as well as for medicinal purposes.

Most people, who use marijuana or other cannabis products for recreational use, use it in similar ways as those who drink alcohol or smoke tobacco. Many use it as a relaxing herb or stress-reliever but, while many may argue its recreational use is no different than alcohol or tobacco use, the United States effectively stopped its use with the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937.

Reportedly the act was put in place because claims were made about marijuana’s ability to cause men of color to become violent and solicit sex from white women.

Since then, though, as technology has advance and our society as become more informed, the American people have slowly begun to accept the reality of the effects of cannabis. As of 2016, there are the following 4 states that have legalized marijuana for recreational use:

• Alaska
• Colorado
• Oregon
• Washington

This number will likely grow considerably in the following years. In fact, the following states could legalize marijuana for recreational use as soon as 2017, depending on the outcome of the 2016 ballots:

• Arizona
• California
• Maine
• Massachusetts
• Nevada

States That Have Legalized Medical Marijuana Use

There has been an alarming amount of pushback in regards to the legality of cannabis use for medicinal purposes but many people claim that it is only due to the significant loss of income that large pharmaceutical companies would endure should it be legalized. Despite the opposition, many states have legalized marijuana for medicinal use, including the following:

• Alaska
• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Hawaii
• Illinois
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Montana
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• Vermont
• Washington

In addition to the 24 states that have already legalized cannabis use, at least for medical use, the following states could also legalize marijuana following the ballot results in 2016:

• Arkansas
• Florida
• Montana
• Missouri