(NEXSTAR) — Nearly half of the U.S. has legalized recreational marijuana use, with states throughout the Northeast becoming the latest to expand regulated cannabis use. Despite efforts by multiple other states to do the same, marijuana use still isn’t widely legalized.
Voters across several states approved recreational marijuana use in 2022, and a few more states were hoping to be added to the list.
Oklahoma voters rejected the legalization of recreational marijuana in March. A proposal to legalize marijuana in Indiana was voted down in early April. Thousands of supporters have signed a petition to have a proposed constitutional amendment regarding marijuana legalization added to Florida ballots in 2024.
Though they haven’t legalized marijuana for medicinal or recreational use, nine states have authorized the use of CBD and products low in THC. Previously among those states was Kentucky, which has since legalized medical marijuana.
The map below shows where marijuana is legal as of 2023:
Three states – Idaho, Nebraska, and Kansas – have no public program at all, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Recent surveys found Americans now favor legal cannabis over legal tobacco. In a survey by the CDC, 57% of respondents said they would support a policy banning the sale of tobacco products while 59% of respondents to a Pew Research survey said they believed marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use.