Medical Marijuana (English/Spanish)
One of the most egregious outcomes of marijuana prohibition is that many seriously ill people cannot legally access the medicine that works best for them. Twenty-four states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico have passed laws legalizing the use of marijuana for qualifying patients under state law. While state medical marijuana programs differ from one another in significant ways, most are tightly controlled programs regulated by the state departments of public health. The Drug Policy Alliance is committed to increasing the number of states with laws that allow for medical use under state law, supporting and improving existing state medical marijuana programs, protecting medical marijuana patients from criminal sanction and discrimination, and ending the federal ban on medical marijuana.
Medical Marijuana
Reforming Marijuana Laws
Fact Sheet
One of the most egregious outcomes of marijuana prohibition is that many seriously ill people cannot legally access the medicine that works best for them. Twenty-four states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico have passed laws legalizing the use of marijuana for qualifying patients under state law. While state medical marijuana programs differ from one another in significant ways, most are tightly controlled programs regulated by the state departments of public health. The Drug Policy Alliance is committed to increasing the number of states with laws that allow for medical use under state law, supporting and improving existing state medical marijuana programs, protecting medical marijuana patients from criminal sanction and discrimination, and ending the federal ban on medical marijuana.