History of Cannabis Regulation
The legalization of marijuana has been an ongoing affair in the United States, with increasing popularity in recent years. Legalization involves two components, medical use and recreational use. Most often, medical legalization occurs first, with recreational legalization following later. Whereas marijuana use is still federally illegal, some states have taken steps to legalize it within the state or reduce criminal penalties. Out of the 50 states, 19 have legalized marijuana for medical use only, and 16 states (and D.C.) have legalized marijuana for medical and recreational use.
Supporting Articles
History of Recreational Marijuana
ProCon.org. (2022). History of Recreational Marijuana. Retrieved on September 4, 2022, from https://marijuana.procon.org/history-of-recreational-marijuana/
Marijuana Legalization and Use from 2008-2016
Magdalena, C., Mauro, C., Hamilton, A., Levy, N., Santaella-Tenoria, J., Hasin, D., Wall, M., Keyes, K., & Martins, S. (2019). Association Between Recreational Marijuana Legalization in the United States and Changes in Marijuana Use and Cannabis Use Disorder From 2008 to 2016. Journal of the American Medical Association Psychiatry, 77(2), 165-171. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.3254
Historical Trends from 1976-2016
Yu, B., Chen, X., Chen, X., & Yan, H. (2020). Marijuana legalization and historical trends in marijuana use among US residents ages 12-25: results from the 1979-2016 National Survey on drug use and health. BMC Public Health, 20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-8253-4