According to national polls — including Pew, Gallup, and CNN — a majority of Americans support making marijuana legal for adults’ use. Ten states and Washington, D.C. have legalized marijuana for individuals over 21, and nine of the states — Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington — have approved taking marijuana production and sales off the criminal market and regulating and taxing them.

The legalization and regulation of marijuana for adults has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in new tax revenue and created tens of thousands of jobs. It has also displaced the criminal market and freed up law enforcement resources to focus on serious crime. Meanwhile, teenagers’ marijuana use rates haven’t increased, and voter support has grown.

Below you will find more information about those laws and how they are working, along with materials to make the case for allowing adults to use a substance that is safer than alcohol.

1. The Case for Legalization and Regulation

2. Overviews of Bills and Laws

3. Responding to Concerns

4. Data From States That Have Legalized and Regulated Marijuana

5. Federal Policy

* This document — Effective Arguments in Favor of Taxing and Regulating Marijuana — has not been updated yet to reflect the newest legalization law, Michigan’s, which voters enacted in November 2018.