State-by-State Legalization.

• Author: Margolin, Madison
• Position: Brief article

Oklahoma became the most recent state to "go green" this past June, with the passage of Ballot Question 788 to legalize medical marijuana. The red state's policy shift made it the thirtieth in the country to legalize medical marijuana, joining the ranks of other Republican states including Arkansas, Montana, and North Dakota, and proving that cannabis policy reform is a bipartisan issue.

Nine states, as well as the District of Columbia, have legalized marijuana use outright for adults: California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Alaska, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Vermont. Later this year, Michigan will vote on an adult use measure, as well.

California, which passed an initiative in 2016 to legalize the use of recreational cannabis, was also the first state to pioneer medical marijuana with the passage of Proposition 215 in 1996. Other states, like New York, have legalized cannabis medicine...