Based on data from Wikipedia, below is a list of countries where recreational cannabis is legal, with only nine nations having made the recreational use of cannabis lawful on a national level.
After Malta and Luxembourg, Germany became the third nation in the European Union to legalize cannabis for personal use in 2024.
Based on data from Wikipedia, Bruno Venditti of Visual Capitalist maps the nations where recreational cannabis usage is permitted as of April 2024.
Limited to Few Countries
Only nine nations have made the recreational use of cannabis lawful on a national level. Only a small number of them, though, have authorized sales.
Cannabis is still regarded as an illicit substance by the US federal government. Nevertheless, each state is free to set its regulations regarding the use and sale of cannabis. At the moment, 24 states, 3 territories, and the District of Columbia permit the use of cannabis.
It’s interesting to note that the earliest legal document about cannabis was written in the 1600s, during a time when Virginia’s colony mandated that hemp be grown on every farm.
Since then, cannabis use has been pretty common until the Marihuana Tax Act was put into effect in the 1930s, at which point it was made illegal on a federal level but was still legal for medical use.
The cannabis industry in the United States is a $30 billion industry now. That amount is predicted to range from $58 billion to as much as $72 billion by the end of the decade.
Like the United States, Australia prohibits the use of cannabis on a national level; but, it is lawful in the Australian Capital Territory, which encompasses Canberra, the nation’s capital.
GreatGameIndia, in a previous article, reported on the status of cannabis legislation in every state in the US and the timeline of when medical and/or recreational use became legal. New Frontier Data examines this data, along with a visual created by Visual Capitalist.
