State laws legalizing marijuana eliminate all criminal penalties for possession or use of the drug for purely recreational purposes. They often permit cultivation for personal use as well as create a taxed and regulated commercial market for cultivation and sale of larger quantities of marijuana. That seems to make sense.
The issue of marijuana legalization became a hot-button for states following the passage of Colorado’s Proposition 64, which legalized recreational use for adults 21 and over in 2012. Since then, a number of other states have passed laws legalizing marijuana. Thus far, all successful legalization efforts have taken place in the form of a ballot initiative or public referendum, rather than through regular legislative processes. Many of those against legalization have a problem with this lack of legislative process.
