Marijuana Legalization: Which States Is Weed Legal In? – By Dan Avery (CNET) / March 17, 2022
Legal cannabis is a $15 billion industry in the US, but it’s still prohibited on the federal level.
Though marijuana is legal for medicinal purposes in 37 states — and recreationally in 18 — the use, possession or sale of cannabis is still prohibited by federal statute.
That’s created a significant disconnect that an increasing number of lawmakers are eager to reconcile: In a letter last month, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, Senate finance committee chair Sen. Ron Wyden and Sen. Cory Booker invited their colleagues to help draft legislation that would end the federal ban and lift state-sanctioned dispensaries out of legal limbo.
Legal US cannabis sales hit nearly $15 billion in 2021 and are on target to surpass $25 billion within the next three years. In 2021 alone, legislation fully legalizing pot passed in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico and Virginia — the first Southern state to do so.
On Tuesday, New Jersey began accepting applications to open dispensaries, and Gov. Phil Murphy said the first shops could be open by this summer.
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