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CANNABIS INDUSTRY

States that have legalized marijuana for adults ages 21 and older

(updated March 2023) It is legal to buy and consume recreational and medical marijuana in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, and Washington and Washington, D.C. For an in-depth look at state-by-state cannabis policies, click here.

Recreational and Medical use

Medical use only

Key Facts

 11 states have legalized medical and recreational marijuana.

 Adults 21 years of age or older can purchase and legally possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana but cannot consume “openly and publicly“.

$290 per ounce is the average price of high-quality marijuana in states where marijuana is legal.

 By 2025, the cannabis industry could generate $132 billion in federal tax revenue if it’s legalized in all 50 states.

Chart of the Week: Marijuana Market Share

The pie chart below shows the market share of marijuana sales in 2017. The data includes sales of recreational, medicinal and cannabis-related products sold in regulated markets during 2017. It’s worth mentioning that California is the most populous state in the nation.

Data source: Public Policy Institute of California, BDS Analytics, Statista