Marijuana legislation continues to grow among states according to WestlawNext

The growing debate around medicinal and recreational marijuana use isn’t about to go up in smoke any time soon. In fact, the issue is lighting up Capitol Hill, with 40 states and the District of Columbia proposing or enacting legislation surrounding pot use, according to WestlawNext, the nation’s leading online legal research service.

The recreational use of marijuana has been the focus of proposed or enacted legislation in 13 states. In regards to using weed for medicinal purposes, 24 states plus the District of Columbia have made it legal, while 16 additional states have proposed legislation allowing medicinal use. Ten states, including New York, currently do not have any proposed or enacted legislation regarding pot use – either recreational or medicinal – while Idaho passed legislation reaffirming their stand against the legalization of marijuana.

Here is a synopsis of proposed or enacted state legislation pertaining to legalizing recreational use of marijuana:

13 states have proposed or enacted legalization, including Colorado and Washington
Three states have commissioned studies to analyze the impact of legalization: New Mexico, Rhode Island and West Virginia
21 is the recommended age for legal use of marijuana across the board
The majority of proposed legislation recommends each state’s Department of Revenue, Department of Taxation or the Liquor Control Board serve as the regulating body
Two states propose creating a new regulatory body: Maine – Bureau of Marijuana Regulation, Licensing and Enforcement; Massachusetts – Cannabis Control Board
Taxation varies amongst proposed legislation ranging from 15 percent in New Hampshire, 25 percent in Nevada and $50 per ounce in Maine
The State of Washington limits advertising signage of retail outlets selling marijuana to 1,600 square inches

“The legalization efforts in Colorado and Washington State bring us closer to a tipping point with regard to marijuana prohibition,” said Sam Kamin, Thomson Reuters author and professor at the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law. “The groups that have been working for years to legalize marijuana will be taking the issue to more and more states in 2014 and beyond.”

Over the last four years, marijuana has been introduced, substituted or adopted across 4,847 pieces of state legislation. A sampling of legislation for other substances, including marijuana, in 2013 include: hemp (117); peyote (168); cocaine (723); and marijuana (1,730).

To download the full infographic on marijuana legislation, click here.