Since medical cannabis was first legalized in Colorado in 1996, nearly half the country has legalized marijuana for recreational use. Even more states have decriminalized weed or allowed marijuana to be used for medical purposes.
These maps show which states have legalized recreational or medical marijuana or decriminalized weed as of 2024.
As of April 2024, recreational marijuana is legal in 24 states, or nearly half the country, according to the Pew Research Center.
The states where recreational weed is legal are 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, and Washington. It is also legal in Washington, D.C.
Recreational use, where legal, is limited to adults 21 years of age and older.
Medicinal marijuana is legal in 13 states. It is also legal in all the states where recreational use of weed is permitted.
In Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire and North Dakota, marijuana is allowed for medical use. It's also decriminalized for other uses, which means that the substance is still illegal but a person would not be prosecuted for possessing under a certain amount of weed. Penalties for having marijuana in states where it is decriminalized include civil fines or drug treatment.
In Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah and West Virginia, marijuana is allowed for medical use. It's not decriminalized for other uses, though, and people can still be prosecuted for having non-medical marijuana.
In Nebraska and North Carolina, marijuana is illegal but decriminalized. That means that in these two states, a person will face penalties but not prosecution for certain amounts of weed.
In Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin, weed is illegal and not decriminalized, but CBD products are allowed.
In Idaho, Kansas, South Carolina and Wyoming, marijuana and all cannabis products are illegal, and weed is not decriminalized.
Marijuana is legal in several countries, including Canada, Germany, Mexico, South Africa and Thailand.
Kerry Breen is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. A graduate of New York University's Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism, she previously worked at NBC News' TODAY Digital. She covers current events, breaking news and issues including substance use.
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