Where to Find (Legal) Weed in the U.S. in 2024

Throughout his 2024 State of the Union cope with, President Joe Biden affirmed his place that the U.S. needs to vary the method it polices cannabis, stating “‘Nobody must be jailed for using or possessing marijuana.” Nearly all of Individuals agree with him, and within the wake of the November 2023 election, when voters within the conservative state of Ohio overwhelmingly voted to legalize the leisure use of cannabis, virtually half of U.S. states have now legalized the leisure use of cannabis.

Ohio was the third state, following Delaware and Minnesota, to maneuver legalization measures in 2023, bringing the number of states the place leisure use is permitted to 24; cannabis (versus THC-free CBD) stays to be (sort of) wholly illegal in 12 states, whereas the the remainder allow for approved medical use, with varied restrictions.

At the same time as Individuals develop additional divided politically, cannabis continues to realize flooring with every election cycle—and even in-between. Although the vast majority of states which have legalized are normally thought-about “blue”—suggesting one political get collectively stays way more chill than the completely different—even Mitch McConnell’s private Kentucky has legalized cannabis for medical use, though the measure doesn’t take impression until 2025.

Whereas Biden has stopped wanting pushing federal legalization, the authorities has made gestures at eradicating the drug’s Schedule I certification beneath the Managed Substances Act, and reclassifying it as Schedule III. For now, weed stays illegal on the federal diploma, and in the same class as heroin and completely different treatment thought-about to have “no medical use” and a extreme potential for abuse and dependence.

Right here’s a rundown of the place weed is permitted for leisure and medical use (and the place it isn’t).

States that legalized weed in 2023

Along with Ohio, which legalized leisure cannabis by the use of a ballot measure, Delaware and Minnesota modified their authorized pointers by the use of legal guidelines earlier this yr.

States which have legalized leisure marijuana

In 24 states, along with 2023’s new additions, weed is dealt with like alcohol—it’s approved for adults (21 and over) to purchase and is regulated and taxed by the authorities. The specifics of what you can purchase and possess (and the place) fluctuate a bit by state. These states even have medical marijuana.

• Alaska

• Arizona

• California

• Colorado

• Connecticut

• Delaware

• Illinois

• Maine

• Maryland

• Massachusetts

• Michigan

• Minnesota

• Missouri

• Montana

• Nevada

• New Jersey

• New Mexico

• New York

• Ohio

• Oregon

• Rhode Island

• Vermont

• Virginia

• Washington

Leisure weed could be approved in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Areas which have approved weed nonetheless no product sales

Within the District of Columbia, it’s approved to own and develop restricted portions of weed, nonetheless there usually are not any enterprise product sales exterior of medical marijuana from a restricted number of licensed dispensaries.

States which have medical cannabis authorized pointers

Fairly a couple of states have legalized medical marijuana nonetheless don’t allow broader leisure use.

• Alabama

• Arkansas

• Delaware*

• Florida

• Hawaii*

• Kentucky

• Louisiana

• Minnesota*

• New Hampshire*

• New Mexico*

• North Dakota*

• South Dakota

• Ohio*

• Oklahoma

• Pennsylvania

• Puerto Rico

• South Dakota

• Utah

• Virginia*

• West Virginia

*In accordance with the Marijuana Coverage Challenge, these states have moreover decriminalized marijuana, lowering or eradicating jail time for possession of restricted portions of weed.

States which have decriminalized weed

Nebraska and North Carolina have authorized pointers that decriminalize marijuana to a stage, which suggests penalties for first-time possession of small portions of weed are lowered. Each have a suspended sentence for a major offense—Nebraska imposes a high-quality and a doable drug coaching course. Medical marijuana legal guidelines has failed in every states.

States which have (just about) nothing

The remaining states don’t enable broad medical or leisure marijuana—neither is weed decriminalized—though all except for Idaho allow entry to low-THC merchandise containing CBD for medical use (which, whereas technically “approved medical cannabis,” isn’t pretty the same issue as a robust approved medical market).

• Georgia

• Idaho

• Indiana

• Iowa

• Kansas

• Nebraska

• North Carolina

• South Carolina

• Tennessee

• Texas

• Wisconsin

• Wyoming

Initially printed in 2020, this textual content has been updated periodically to reflect altering authorized pointers around the nation. It was most not too way back updated in March 2024.