All of the US states where marijuana is legal

Ohio residents have approved a ballot measure to legalise recreational marijuana.

The "yes" vote on Issue 2 means those aged 21 and over in Ohio will about to use, grow or sell marijuana under a regulation-and-tax program imposed by the state.

Medical marijuana has been legal in Ohio since 2016.

The announcement is not the first of its kind however, with Ohio being the 24th state to embrace such legislation.

The first U.S. states to approve ballot measures to legalise the recreational use and sale of cannabis were Colorado and Washington, on Election Day in 2012.

Over the next ten years, 22 other states would follow in the same footsteps, with Ohio being the latest. Despite this increase in public support for such legislation, marijuana is still illegal at the federal level.

The states where marijuana is legal are as follows:

• Colorado
• Washington
• Alaska
• Oregon
• California
• Maine
• Massachusetts
• Nevada
• Michigan
• Vermont
• Illinois
• Arizona
• Montana
• New Jersey
• New York
• Virginia
• New Mexico
• Connecticut
• Rhode Island
• Maryland
• Missouri
• Delaware
• Minnesota
• Ohio

Marijuana is also legal in the District of Columbia, Gum, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

In October 2022, President Joe Biden said he would issue pardons to everyone convicted of the federal crime of simple marijuana possession, and called for governors to make similar moves under state laws.

Supporters of the measure campaigned on the premise of regulating the drug "like alcohol." Whilst opponents aired ads in Ohio saying it would lead to marijuana sellers marketing edibles to children as candy.

Efforts are underway to place recreational marijuana legislation on ballot in 2024 in Florida, Nebraska, and South Dakota.

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