Particular Report
American attitudes in direction of marijuana legalization are rising increasingly favorable. A 2021 Pew Analysis Center ballot discovered that 60% of Individuals really feel marijuana needs to be authorized for medical and leisure use, whereas an extra 31% say it needs to be authorized for medical use alone.
These altering attitudes have translated into altering legal guidelines on the state degree. A decade in the past, marijuana was illegal in each single U.S. state. As of early 2022, adults 21 and over can legally devour hashish recreationally in 18 states and Washington D.C., with extra states making the push for leisure use every year.
To find out the states the place marijuana is authorized, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed info from advocacy group Marijuana Policy Project. Knowledge on grownup utilization of marijuana got here from the Nationwide Survey On Drug Use And Well being from the U.S. Division of Well being and Human Providers
Final yr, 4 states legalized marijuana for grownup leisure use – Connecticut, New Mexico, New York, and Virginia. Virginia’s legalization marks the primary time that any Southern state has totally legalized hashish.
Not each push for legalization has been profitable. South Dakota voters permitted a 2020 poll measure that will have allowed leisure hashish utilization, however the measure was overturned. Gov. Kristi Noem and others challenged the legislation as much as the state Supreme Court docket, which struck down the initiative in 2021.
As extra states have legalized marijuana, they’ve additionally made an effort to deal with the best way drug legal guidelines affected residents prior to now – notably individuals of colour. Regardless of reporting roughly equal marijuana utilization charges, Black Individuals are greater than thrice extra prone to be incarcerated for marijuana-related offenses than white Individuals. And in some states, the disparity is even larger. These are the states with the largest disparities in marijuana arrests.
Click here to see 18 states where marijuana is legal
