Legal regime of cannabis in the United States of America

Abstract

The Americas' cannabis policy environment is rapidly evolving. In the 1970s, several US states reduced or, started to liberalize their cannabis laws, eliminating criminal penalties for possessing small amounts of cannabis. In contrast to European states, medical cannabis in the US was primarily approved by voters. For a wide variety of medical purposes, people cultivate and consume nonstandardized cannabis herb. Except for a specific group of patients, these early medical cannabis reforms keep in place the federal and state prohibitions.