How Many States Have Medical Cannabis?

A brief history

Most people know that California was the first state to have a Medical Marijuana initiative. Although cannabis has been used for thousands of years it had become illegal in the 1920s. This was followed by many years of political football being played with in some cases a potentially life-saving medicine. Almost 100 years of research were lost and although science is catching back up, there's stilll a whole bag full of potential waiting to be tapped into. So, enough about that, how many states actually have a medical cannabis law?

Alot of them

There is a grand total of 29 legal Medical Marijuana states plus Washington DC. Each have different laws, with varying degrees of rules of use. For example, Maryland has quite strict laws about who can actually use Medical Marijuana. You have to have either a debilitating illness, where other treatments have been ineffective or you need to have a chronic (permanent) problem. You're also only allowed 4 ounces at a time or a 30 day supply, In contrast, in Oregon you can have up to 24 ounces. It is very important that you understand the laws of your state before deciding on whether to use Medical Marijuana or not. A total of 59.3% of the population of the United States now live in a Medical Marijuana state 8 states plus Washington DC have some kind of recreational marijuana laws.

Changing all the time

The amount of states and what kind of laws those states have are changing all the time. By the time you're reading this there may even be 30 states with Medical Marijuana. In Britain, the third largest party (the Liberal Democrats) have recently placed legalization of Cannabis on the agenda in Britain. This is the first time (in my life time) a major political party have suggested that marijuana should be legislated instead of criminalized. Furthermore, after the death of his son, Lord Monson a prominent aristocrat in Britain has called for the legalization of milder forms of cannabis. The winds of the world are changing and more and more people are realizing that marijuana should be legalized because it's not as harmful as alcohol and tobacco. People are also realizing that it could help millions of people as a medicine also.