It’s been almost ten years since Colorado became the first state in the U.S. to legalize adult use, recreational Marijuana. This opened the doors for other states to follow suit. Now, almost ten years after that momentous day, 24 states have legalized recreational marijuana with Minnesota expected to do the same in 2025..

During that same time, Medical Marijuana was also being legalized. Currently, there are 38 states out of 50 that have legalized medical marijuana. According to the Pew Research Center, 89% of those polled are for some kind of marijuana legalization (59% for both medical and recreational and 30% for just medical marijuana with 10% saying it shouldn’t be legal in any form.)

Despite medical marijuana legalization being hugely popular with voters—more Americans voted for medical marijuana legalization in Arizona (60%) than for Biden (49.4%) and more people in Mississippi voted to legalize medical marijuana (73%) than supported Trump (58%) during the 2020 election—it is not a political priority inside the Beltway. The majority of voters from both parties want marijuana —medical marijuana specifically — to be legalized.

Larger cannabis companies in the U.S. have restructured their market strategies. While the industry started out believing that federal laws would change to accommodate Recreational Marijuana legalization, it’s obviously not going to happen right away. Curaleaf, which has a $2.2 billion market cap after seeing its stock price drop 41% since last summer, has adopted a strategy focused on state reform, not federal legalization. “We’re not working off of any timelines for these things occurring,” Darin says. “We need to continue to do what we’ve done for the last 10 years, which is still operate in this state-by-state environments.”

What President Biden Promised

Since taking office, President Joe Biden has taken some action on cannabis reform. However, legalization of recreational marijuana is not on his list. According to his official statement on marijuana reform, here’s what he set out to accomplish during his term of office:

1)Pardon all Federal offenders being incarcerated for simple possession of marijuana.

2)Encourage state governors to pardon those imprisoned for simple possession from state prisons.

3) Ask the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Attorney General (AG) to “initiate the administrative process to review expeditiously how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.”

He did get all three done, but now the burden of decision and carrying these things on to fruition is on someone else’s shoulders. HHS has recommended moving marijuana to Schedule III, but the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has the final say and that is yet to be determined, though the DEA has rarely rejected a recommendation from HHS in the past.

Biden’s actions have never actually reflected a “pro-recreational” stance, but he has publicly stated his support for medical marijuana. A White House press release from September 2023 states that President Biden has been “very clear” that he’s “supported the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes.” 

Why Congress Opposes Recreational Marijuana Use

Even though the President has stated that he is not for legalizing recreational marijuana on a federal level, it should still be moving forward within Congress, right? You would think. But the truth is that there are more obstacles than just the President.

Age makes a difference. More than half of Congress is over 65 years old, the age least likely to support any kind of recreational marijuana legalization. Career politicians and even law enforcement over this age still hold to beliefs they formed forty years ago. The War on Drugs definitely had an impact on that generation.

Even staunch supporters of legalization are divided in their goals. Some are actively seeking federal legalization for medical marijuana. That’s the compassionate thing to do. But others are seeking full federal legalization for all marijuana. Still others are seeking support of legalization for first responders or more rights for cannabis-owned business. Other groups are seeking freedom for cannabis research on a federal level. There are so many groups demanding so many different things, it becomes difficult to hear anything because there are so many diverse voices.

Politicians have multiple items on their agendas. Arguments concerning other priorities can cause rifts between congressmen that impact marijuana law reform. Even though a large majority of voters are for legalization of medical marijuana, there are other dynamics in play that can cause roadblocks and unexpectedly change a vote.

Congress and the majority of the voting public in the United States are concerned about access to recreational marijuana by adolescents. States where recreational marijuana is legal make it more accessible to teens and that presents a problem for legalization.

Another concern from those who oppose legalization of recreational marijuana is the lack of quality control. While medical marijuana typically has very rigid requirements and government oversight for product quality from seed to production, recreational is much more lax. Most state regulations simply affirm that companies are required to produce, process, and package recreational cannabis products using “good manufacturing practices.” Regulators are inspecting and auditing for security and traceability compliance and not as focused on methods or sanitation.

Predictions for the Future

Predictions have been made regarding marijuana federal legalization by those who are following trends in Washington. Anywhere from five to ten years is the span most would agree on for federal legalization. However, they also predict that any federal legalization will likely be only for medical marijuana because that’s where the majority of congressional support lies.

Representative Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina who introduced a bill to end federal prohibition in 2021, when asked if she sees a legalization bill, is not hopeful. “I don’t see that on the horizon,” she says. “If anything, it would be the SAFE Banking Act.”

Founding member of the bipartisan Congressional Cannabis Caucus, Representative Earl Blumenauer, a Democrat from Oregon, believes that legalization is within “the next five years.” He stated. “The political process has been the obstacle,” says Blumenauer. “We’ve seen tremendous progress in terms of the movement for legalization and public opinion. Sadly, the federal government is going to be the last to get there.”

The Good News

The good news is, medical marijuana is legal in the state of Louisiana. As a patient in the Louisiana medical marijuana program, you can legally consume medical marijuana purchased at one of the designated pharmacies. Getting started is easy. Just click the button below and choose the area of the state that you live in.