The unofficial marijuana holiday is less than a week away and in more than half of the U.S., the purchase and consumption of the psychoactive drug is legal.
Though more and more states have begun to legalize in recent years, marijuana wasn't always regulated in the United States. When European settlers arrived in the 17th and 18th centuries, many used marijuana as an ingredient in medicine for ailments like cholera, alcoholism, opiate addiction and asthma, according to the Rockefeller Institute of Government.
The first regulation of marijuana was passed in 1906, with the establishment of the Pure Food and Drug Act. This legislation required over-the-counter drugs containing cannabis to be labeled.
Just a few years later in 1910, 29 states passed marijuana prohibitions. And in 1937, Congress passed the Marihuana Tax Act (an alternative spelling). The legislation didn't criminalize marijuana but rather imposed punishable fines on people who didn't pay necessary taxes, according to the Rockefeller Institute of Government. But in 1969, the Supreme Court overturned the act, as it was found to be a violation of the Fifth Amendment.
Marijuana wasn't banned federally until 1970 with the passage of the Controlled Substances Act, which classified marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug.
Fast forward to 1996, California passed the Compassionate Use Act, which legalized medical marijuana in the state. More states eventually followed, but it wasn't until 2012 that two states legalized weed for recreational purchase and consumption − Colorado and Washington.
It can all be a lot to keep track of.
As we approach 4/20 on April 20, here is where marijuana is legal − medically and recreationally − in the United States.
Where is marijuana recreationally and medically legal?
According to DISA Global Solutions, marijuana is legal for medical and recreational purchase and consumption in the following states:
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
Washington
Washington, D.C.
Where is marijuana only medically legal?
According to DISA Global Solutions, marijuana is only legal for medical purchase and consumption in the following states:
Alabama
Arkansas
Florida
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
South Dakota
Utah
West Virginia
Where is marijuana fully illegal?
Marijuana is illegal for medicinal and recreational use in just four states: Idaho, Nebraska, South Carolina and Wyoming.
There are also some states were medical and recreational marijuana isn't legalized, but is decriminalized. In Texas, Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia, products that contain both CBD and THC are legal, according to DISA Global Solutions.