Voters in Massachusetts, California, and Nevada decided (Nov. 8) to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in their states.
These three states joined Alaska, Oregon, Colorado, Washington and the District of Columbia, which had already legalized the drug for recreational use in previous votes.The District of Columbia has fully legalized recreational and medical marijuana, but the recreational commercial sale is currently tackled by Congress. Twelve states have both medical marijuana and decriminalization laws (three of them being CBD only). Thirteen states, Guam, and Puerto Rico have legalized psychoactive medical marijuana, though another twelve have just legalized non-psychoactive medical marijuana. One state and the U.S. Virgin Islands have just decriminalized possession laws. In the rest four states and two inhabited territories, marijuana possession and sales are illegal and prohibited entirely.
The use, possession, cultivation, sale and transportation of cannabis are banned under federal law in the United States. However, the federal government has explained that if a state passes a law to decriminalize cannabis for recreational or medical use, they can do so, following the condition that a regulation system for cannabis is in place.
Cannabis is a flowering plant in the family Cannabaceae. Three species may be recognized, Cannabis indica, Cannabis sativa, and Cannabis ruderalis; C. ruderalis may be included within C. Sativa;The genus is indigenous to central Asia and the Indian subcontinent.
