And as this year ends, it has been a banner year for weed legalization worldwide. However, the biggest leaps were in North America. Number one of course is Canada which made rec weed legal this year. The legality varies by province as to what you can have and what you can grow and where you can buy weed. It is ramping up now and not in full place yet, but Canada has legalized recreational weed and is the second nation to do so after Uruguay.
In the US at the state level, two more states have become rec legal this year: Vermont and Michigan. Michigan is significant as it is the first Midwest state to become rec legal. Also Michigan has a large population. Vermont was significant in that the legislature passed the law, and the law did not take effect by popular vote. Also Utah and Oklahoma have legalized medical marijuana this year. Utah is significant because the LDS has changed its stance 180 degrees on medical marijuana, and everyone thought that Utah would be the last state to legalize Cannabis of any kind. At the US federal level, Congress also passed the 2018 Farm bill and Trump just signed it making it federal law. The law changes the federal status of hemp from a schedule 1 controlled substance to just another agricultural product, fully decriminalizing hemp. Hemp in the US is defined as Cannabis with less than 0.3% THC. Unfortunately, Marijuana which is Cannabis with over 0.3% THC remains a schedule 1 narcotic in the US. But 10 states now have legal rec marijuana and 33 states now have either legal rec or legal medical marijuana, in spite of the federal law.
Also Mexico has made great strides toward legalizing marijuana there this year. Early in 2018 they made medical marijuana legal. Then in October, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled that Cannabis prohibition passed in 1920 was unconstitutional. That opened the door for rec legalization and the newly elected legislature and president of Mexico say that they will likely pass laws to legalize marijuana in Mexico. At this point it has been proposed that Mexicans be able to grow 20 plants in clubs, smoke weed in public, possess just over a pound of weed, and buy weed in stores. It seems likely that rec weed will be made legal in Mexico sometime in 2019.