Special report
February 23, 2021, 9:49 a.m.
Arrests for marijuana possession topped half a million in 2019, more than arrests for other drug abuse crimes prosecuted by the FBI. In the same year a survey was carried out by Pew Research Center found that 67% of Americans support marijuana legalization, up from just 16% three decades ago.
Marijuana has been criminalized under federal law since 1937. In states across the country, however, changed attitudes towards the pot are increasingly reflected in new laws that directly contradict the federal ban.
Wall Street identified the 15 states that legalized recreational marijuana use around the clock. We also have the annual government excise tax receipts, as well as estimates of marijuana sales revenue from the tax policy research organization, the Tax foundation. Estimates of annual marijuana use rates are based on the results of a 2018-2019 drug abuse and mental health agency survey.
Each of the states on this list has legalized it within the past decade. The first states to completely end marijuana bans did so through the 2012 election, and four states have already decided to legalize cannabis in 2020. In most states, legalization was the result of voter-sponsored election initiatives that were popularly supported on election day. Illinois, New Jersey, and Vermont are the only states where elected lawmakers have introduced and passed laws to lift the bans on the drug.
The number of states where recreational marijuana use is legal probably won’t stay at 15 for long. As drug users increasingly accept acceptance, legalization is likely to be taken over by more state governments – including those that do not allow electoral initiatives. Here’s a look at the next 9 states to legalize marijuana.
Nationwide, 16.7% of 18-year-olds and older people used marijuana in the past year. Usage rates in the states on this list tend to be higher than average.
Click here to see 15 states where marijuana is legal.