Marijuana legalization has been a hot-button topic for decades now even before California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana in 1996. Both sides have their reasons for or against legalizing marijuana for both medical and recreational use and it’s a topic that will continue to be debated for decades to come.
Last updated on April 6, 2017.
How Many States Have Legal Marijuana?
Currently, over half of U.S. states plus Washington D.C. have legalized some form of medical marijuana while 8 states have legalized recreational marijuana use. With ever changing marijuana laws, it can be difficult to know which states have legalized cannabis for medical use or for recreational use and which states have yet to legalize any form marijuana use. As an employer, it can be difficult to decide whether to include marijuana drug testing in your pre-employment drug testing or random drug testing programs. It is important to note that even though marijuana has been legalized in many states, employees in these states are not exempt from a THC test and it’s still legal to perform drug screens that include marijuana drug testing. We know it can be confusing to keep up with all of the different laws so we have put together a table with current marijuana laws for each state.STATE | Marijuana Decriminalized | Medical Marijuana Legalized | Recreational Marijuana Legalized | |
1 | Alabama | CBD oil only Carly’s Law Jun 11, 2014 Leni’s Law Jun 1, 2016 | ||
2 | Alaska | Senate Bill 94 March 4, 1999 | Ballot Measure 2 Nov 4, 2014 | |
3 | Arizona | Proposition 203 Nov 2, 2010 | ||
4 | Arkansas | Issue 6 Nov 9, 2016 | ||
5 | California | Proposition215 Nov 6, 1996 | Proposition 64 Nov 9, 2016 | |
6 | Colorado | Amendment 20 Nov 7, 2000 | Amendment 64 Nov 6, 2012 | |
7 | Connecticut | Senate Bill 1014 Jul 1, 2011 (adult use) | House Bill 5389 Oct 1, 2012 | |
8 | Delaware | House Bill 39 Dec 18, 2015 (adult use) | Senate Bill17 May 13, 2011 | |
9 | Florida | Senate Bill 1030 Jun 16, 2014 amended by Amendment 2 (2016) | ||
10 | Georgia | CBD oil only House Bill 1 Apr 16, 2015 | ||
11 | Hawaii | Senate Bill 862 Jun 14, 2000 | ||
12 | Idaho | Medical and non-medical marijuana are both still illegal but supporters of the 2018 initiative need to submit 48,793 valid signatures by close of business on May 1, 2018 for it to qualify for the 2018 ballot | Idaho Medical Marijuana Initiative (2018) | |
13 | Illinois | Senate Bill 2228 Jul 29, 2016 (adult use) | House Bill 1 Jan 1, 2014 Amended by Senate Bill 2636(2014) And extended by Senate Bill 10 (2016) | |
14 | Indiana | Medical and non-medical marijuana are both still illegal but with legislation being worked out at the beginning of the 2017 legislative session | Senate Bill 15 and Senate Bill 255 (pre-filed) | |
15 | Iowa | CBD oil only Senate File 2360 July 1, 2014 | ||
16 | Kansas | Medical and non-medical marijuana are both still illegal but with reduced penalties for possession | ||
17 | Kentucky | CBD oil only Senate Bill 124 Jul 6, 2016 | ||
18 | Louisiana | Senate Bill 271 May 19, 2016 and Senate Bill 180 Aug 1, 2016 | ||
19 | Maine | Ballot Question 2 Dec 2, 1999 Amended by Senate Bill 611 (2002) and Question 5 (2009) | Question_1 Jan 30, 2017 | |
20 | Maryland | Senate Bill 364 Oct 1, 2014 (adult use) and SB 517 Feb 20, 2016 (marijuana paraphernalia) | House Bill 881 Jun 1, 2014 | |
21 | Massachusetts | Question-3 Nov 8, 2012 | Question 4 Dec 15, 2016 | |
22 | Michigan | Proposal 1 Dec 4, 2008 amended by House Bill 4856, House Bill 4834 and House Bill 4851 | ||
23 | Minnesota | SF 2470 May 30, 2014 | ||
24 | Mississippi | CBD oil only House Bill 1231 Apr 17, 2014 | ||
25 | Missouri | Senate Bill 491 Jan 1, 2017 (adult use) | HB 2238 Jul 28, 2014 | |
26 | Montana | Initiative 148 Nov 2, 2004 | ||
27 | Nebraska | Decriminalized a small amount of marijuana 1978 | ||
28 | Nevada | Ballot Question 9 October 1, 2001 | Ballot Question 2 Nov 8, 2016 | |
29 | New Hampshire | HB 573 July 23, 2013 | ||
30 | New Jersey | SB 119 July 2010 | ||
31 | New Mexico | The Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act SB 523 July 1, 2007 | ||
32 | New York | Has removed jail time for the possession of small amount of cannabis 1977 | AB 6357 July 2014 | |
33 | North Carolina | Decriminalized the possession of small amount of marijuana 1977 | ||
34 | North Dakota | Ballot Measure 5 November 8, 2016 | ||
35 | Ohio | Removed jail time for the possession of small amount of marijuana 1975 | HB 523 September 2016 | |
36 | Oklahoma | State Question 780 Possession of marijuana is a misdemeanor July 1, 2017 | CBD Oil HB 2835 Allows adults to use low-THC cannabis oil | |
37 | Oregon | Ballot Measure 67 1998 | Measure 91 July 1,2015 | |
38 | Pennsylvania | SB 3 April 2016 | ||
39 | Rhode island | Decriminalized minor marijuana possession April 2013 | SB 0710 January 6, 2006 | |
40 | South Carolina | CBD Oil only Bill 1035 May 2014 | ||
41 | South Dakota | No medical marijuana law Possession of marijuana is a felony | ||
42 | Tennessee | CBD Oil only SB 2531 May 16, 2014 | ||
43 | Texas | |||
44 | Utah | HB 105 March 21, 2014 | ||
45 | Vermont | Removed jail time for the possession of small amount of marijuana 2013 | HB 645 2002 SB 76 July 1, 2004 | |
46 | Virginia | CBD oil only HB 1445 Feb 26, 2015 | ||
47 | Washington | Initiative 692 1998 | Initiative 502 Nov 6, 2012 | |
48 | West Virginia | |||
49 | Wisconsin | |||
50 | Wyoming | CBD oil HB 32 July 1, 2015 |