RED STATES, BLUE STATES, PURPLE STATES... in 2020, one thing most of us can agree on is the need for more green states. Support for marijuana legalization is at an all-time high (puns!) with two-thirds of Americans in favor. States are moving cannabis laws forward -- some of them slow, some of them fast.

Nine years ago, medical marijuana was legal in only 17 states and the District of Columbia; recreational marijuana was legal in zero states and zero Districts of Columbia. Today, medical marijuana programs are on the books in 33 states, and the 11 best states allow some degree of recreational use. For the first few years the West Coast set the pace, and then New England began making moves, too -- even some red states, once GOP politicians began seeing the tax windfall enjoyed by trailblazers (more puns!) like Colorado and Washington, are suddenly of the opinion that marijuana is not quite so bad.

Welcome to the State of the Cannabis Union 2020, your one-stop shop for everything you need to know about which states are stacking hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue by legalizing and/or not imprisoning non-violent drug users, and which states are… not. As voters and state legislatures adapt, we’ll update this story and the map accordingly.

Before we light up here (so sorry), a quick primer on some terminology -- don’t worry, this isn’t for a test, unless you count the possibility that you misjudge your state’s laws and do in fact end up in prison. In that sense, yes it is for a test.

RECREATIONAL

Eleven states and DC have, to varying degrees, seen the light in allowing residents to get lit. But contrary to what at least one of you currently reading this believes, “legal” recreational weed does not mean, like, fully and unconditionally legalized blazing in the streets in front of God and everyone. Usually it means that if you are over the age of 21, it’s fine to keep modest amounts on your person or in your home, maybe grow a couple of plants, and occasionally smoke in public. You might recognize such rules from your dealings with a similar legal recreational substance, “alcohol.”

MEDICINAL

Thirty-three states now have medical marijuana programs, but not all are currently operational and some only cover a limited range of medical conditions. Many states without medical legislation still allow for limited use of CBD -- aka cannabidiol, the cannabis compound that has a huge variety of medical properties but is not psychoactive (i.e. it doesn’t get you high, unlike its better-known counterpart THC). CBD is widely used to help manage epilepsy and ease symptoms of conditions such as anxiety, cancer, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, and nausea.

ILLEGAL

Pretty straightforward!

DECRIMINALIZED

A lot of breadth and nuance can be contained in the term “decriminalized,” but basically it means no jail time. The state in question hasn’t legalized recreational marijuana, but it has made possession of small amounts (usually 1 ounce or less) punishable by, at worst, a citation and a fine, not criminal charges and prison. Some states still classify it as a misdemeanor, but removing the threat of incarceration is an important step, since for years this country has been throwing people in prison for carrying as little as a single joint -- with black Americans four times more likely to be arrested as white ones, despite equal rates of marijuana usage. Some decriminalized states also have medical marijuana programs.