Pot Luck: Mapping America’s Marijuana Muddle
The Economist illustrates how the 50 states handle pakalolo use in very different ways.
SMOKING, growing, buying, selling or merely possessing cannabis is a criminal offence, according to America’s federal government.
Ask the states, however, and you will get almost 50 different answers. In 13 of them possession of the drug has been decriminalised, meaning that tokers face only minor penalties if caught. In 23 it has been legalised for medical use.
And in four—including, following ballot initiatives earlier this month, Alaska and Oregon—cannabis has been legalised outright.
In all only 22 states, fewer than half the total, continue to treat the drug as criminal contraband under all circumstances.
It may be only a matter of time before the unenforced federal ban goes up in smoke.
As shown in the map, Hawaii allows medical marijuana use. Just this year lawmakers authorized switching control over the program from the Department of Public Safety to the Health Department.
The Hawaii Legislature has considered decriminalizing pakalolo, but law enforcement has thus far successfully fought the idea.
The Economist
