On November 6, 2012, Colorado voters approved Amendment 64 by a 55.32% to 44.68% margin, legalizing adult possession, 6-plant home cultivation, and the world's first state-licensed recreational cannabis stores.
In 2010, New Jersey signed the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act on January 18, and on November 2 Arizona voters approved Proposition 203 by a razor-thin 50.13% to 49.87% margin—just 4,341 votes…
On November 4, 2008, Michigan voters approved Proposal 1 by a 62.68% landslide—winning all 83 counties to become the first Midwest medical cannabis state—while Massachusetts voters decriminalized possession with 65.09% Yes.
In a landmark 6–3 constitutional decision on June 6, 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the federal Controlled Substances Act applies even to California medical patients growing cannabis at home strictly…
On November 2, 2004, Montana voters approved Initiative 148 by a 61.81% to 38.19% landslide, joining Vermont (which enacted medical cannabis via its legislature in May 2004) as the ninth and tenth…
Signed on June 14, 2000, Hawaii's Act 228 marked the first time a state legislature—rather than a voter ballot initiative—enacted a medical marijuana program.
On November 2, 1999, Maine voters approved Question 2 by a 61.41% to 38.59% vote, making Maine the fifth state overall and the first on the East Coast to legalize medical cannabis.
Two years after California's Prop 215, voters in Alaska (58.7%), Oregon (54.6%), and Washington (59.0%) approved medical cannabis ballot measures on November 3, 1998.
On November 5, 1996, California voters approved Proposition 215 by a 55.58% to 44.42% margin, enacting the nation's first statewide medical cannabis law.
Taking effect on October 5, 1973, Oregon's reform eliminated jail time for possessing up to one ounce of cannabis, replacing criminal arrest with a civil fine of up to $100.
Signed on October 27, 1970, the Controlled Substances Act replaced the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act and placed cannabis in Schedule I alongside heroin and LSD.