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52
Legal Focus
SEPTEMBER 2014
Laws For Medical Marijuana Use
This month we take a look at the controversial topic of Medical Marijuana use by speaking to Jed Stone of Stone & Associates.
While the following number is a rapidly moving target, as of this writing there are 23 states that have legalized medical marijuana. The District of Columbia has followed suit. Viewed in a broader sense, a look at the current national legal patchwork reveals that 36 states plus DC have liberalized marijuana laws in general.
They have either legalized medical marijuana or provided access to low potency formulas, decriminalized the recreational use of the plant, decriminalized its medical use, or flat-out legalized all recreational and medical uses, as in the cases of the states of Washington and Colorado.
All that said, according to statistics provided by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and the National Conference
of State Legislatures, 27% of the population now live in a state that still has full prohibition, 35% live in states with legal medical marijuana, 4% live in states with decriminalized possession laws, 31% live in states with both legal medical marijuana and decriminalized possession, and 4% live in fully legal states.
There is a substantial body of respected scientific literature that supports the medical use of marijuana. Without doubt, more states will follow the trend of making the plant available for both medical and adult recreational use.
Among the next states most likely to end marijuana prohibition entirely are Oregon and Alaska. A state that already has decriminalization and medical marijuana laws in place, Oregon will welcome voters to the polls