Recreational Legalization and Cultural Shifts
2010 - 2015
2015
Brazil allows medical cannabis use Substances derived from Cannabis - THC and CBD - are legally allowed for medicinal use under restrictions set forth by the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency.
Jamaica decriminalizes cannabis possession for up to two ounces, while also legalizing personal cultivation of up to five plants and regulations for cultivation and distribution of medical, religious, and natural cannabis.
September 28, 2015, Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla signs an executive order permitting medical cannabis use in the territory.
July 17, 2015, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signs House Bill 766 into law, allowing epilepsy patients to use CBD for treatment.
June 30, 2015, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal signs Senate Bill 143, significantly reducing penalties for possession of cannabis in the state. Jindal also signs House Bill 149, creating a framework for medical cannabis to be legally dispensed to patients.
June 2015, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signs Senate Bill 339 into law, allowing low-THC oil to be used by epilepsy patients. This bill allows the use of CBD oil only for patients with intractable epilepsy. Patients seeking the legal medicinal use of CBD will require two certified specialists to approve the drug for a patient.
May 2015, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam signs Senate Bill 280 into law, legalizing CBD oil for medical patients with qualifying conditions. The first Cannabis World Congress and Business Expo is held in New York City at the Javits Center.
April 16, 2015, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signs House Bill 1, Haleigh's Hope Act, into law, legalizing low-THC cannabis oil for medical patients with certain qualifying conditions.
March 26, 2015, Bill Levin creates the First Church of Cannabis in Indiana and receives recognition as a nonprofit religious entity as the state's Religious Freedom Restoration Act takes effect.
February 26, 2015, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe signs House Bill 1445 and Senate Bill 1235 into law, creating affirmative defense against possession charges of CBD and THCA oil for medical patients.
2014
2014, Michael Zaytsev founded High NY. High NY provides information on New York Cannabis news, cannabis events, and cannabis culture.
November 4, 2014, Oregon Ballot Measure 91 and Alaska Ballot Measure 2 pass, legalizing adult-use cannabis in their respective states. The same day, Washington, DC Ballot Initiative 71, Legalization of Possession of Minimal Amounts of Marijuana for Personal Use Act of 2014, passes to fully legalize adult-use cannabis in the nation's capital. Guam passes a ballot measure to legalize medical cannabis in the territory.
October 6, 2014, Paige Figi, and the Stanley Brothers tell the story of Charlotte's Web on CBS show The Doctors; the show's hosts state on-air that there should be a change in federal marijuana policy
July 7, 2014, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signs the Compassionate Care Act, legalizing medical cannabis within the state. Patients suffering from debilitating symptoms and disease may have access to legal medical cannabis. However, the Compassionate Care Act will have strict requirements regulated by the Department of Health.
July 2014, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon signs House Bill 2238 into law; the Missouri Medical Marijuana Bill legalizes CBD for the treatment of seizure disorders.
June 4, 2014, Florida Governor Rick Scott signs Senate Bill 1030, the Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act, into law to allow medical patients access to Charlotte's Web cannabis strain.
June 2014, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley signs Senate Bill 1035, Julian's Law, allowing children with severe epilepsy to be treated by CBD oil as prescribed by a physician.
May 29, 2014, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton signs a medical marijuana bill into law, legalizing medical cannabis within the state of Minnesota.
May 2014, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad signs the Medical Cannabidiol Act into law, allowing epilepsy patients to use CBD oil for treatment if prescribed by a neurologist.
May 2014, the Rohrabacher–Farr amendment, which prohibits the Justice Department from spending federal funds to interfere with the implementation of state medical cannabis laws, passed the House, becoming law in December 2014 as part of the annual omnibus spending bill. The passage of the amendment was the first time either chamber of Congress had voted to protect medical cannabis patients, but did not change its legal status, and must be renewed each year in order to remain in effect.
April 14, 2014, Maryland Governor O'Malley signs law creating a legal medical cannabis infrastructure within the state.
April 2014, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant signs House Bill 1231, "Harper Grace's Act," into law, legalizing medical patients' access to CBD oil for qualifying conditions.
March 14, 2014, Florida House of Representatives Budget Committee passes the "Charlotte's Web measure" (CS / HB 843), designed to limit prosecutors' ability to prosecute those in possession of low-THC/high-CBD marijuana if it is used to treat seizure conditions
March 4, 2014, Council of the District of Columbia passes legislation decriminalizing adult-use cannabis in Washington, DC. Possession of cannabis of up to an ounce will be decriminalized. Instead of criminal penalties for possession of cannabis in Washington, DC, persons will be given a civil violation punishable by a $25 fine.
February 14, 2014, US Department of Justice issues guidelines allowing banks and financial institutions to interact with marijuana businesses that are licensed to operate under state law.
February 12, 2014, Eighteen members of US Congress co-sign letter to President Obama, calling on him to delist marijuana from Schedule I or II of the Controlled Substances Act, thus ending mandatory minimum sentencing in marijuana cases.
2013
December 10, 2013, Uruguay becomes the world's first nation to legalize cannabis cultivation, distribution, and adult use. "We are regulating a market that already exists," said Jose Mujica, Uruguay's president.
August 29, 2013, United States Deputy Attorney General James Cole issues a memorandum (the “Cole Memorandum”) to all United States Attorneys, regarding prosecution of federal marijuana offenses. The Cole Memorandum stated that, given its limited resources, the Justice Department would no longer enforce the federal cannabis laws in states that had "legalized marijuana in some form and ... implemented strong and effective regulatory and enforcement systems to control the cultivation, distribution, sale, and possession of marijuana," except where the lack of enforcement would undermine federal priorities (such as preventing violence in cannabis cultivation and distribution, preventing marijuana-impaired driving, and preventing marijuana money from going to gangs and cartels).
The Cole Memorandum was rescinded by Attorney General Jeff Sessions in January 2018, during Donald Trump’s presidency.
August 13, 2013, Dr. Sanjay Gupta features Charlotte Figi's story on the CNN documentary Weed. Charlotte Figi was diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy. Her condition was unable to be controlled from other forms of medication, however, Charlotte began taking CBD oil and saw a sharp decline in seizures as a result.
August 2, 2013, Illinois Governor Patrick Quinn signs a bill legalizing medical cannabis within the state. Illinois joins 19 other states that have legalized some form of cannabis. Doctors will be allowed to prescribe medical cannabis to patients whom they believe would benefit from medical marijuana.
July 23, 2013, New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan signs a bill legalizing medical cannabis within the state. Patients must have a severely debilitating, and or terminal, medical condition to qualify for medical marijuana. Patients who qualify may legally possess cannabis of up to two ounces.
June 2013, Weedmaps’ Justin Hartfield and Doug Francis form Ghost Group and Emerald Ocean Capital, the first venture capital firm for the legal cannabis sector. Hartfield is dubbed “the first venture capitalist of the pot industry” by Business Insider.
February 2013, General Cannabis Incorporated sells Weedmaps back to original founders Justin Hartfield and Keith Hoerling.
January 16, 2013, Kevin Sabet founds anti-cannabis organization Smart Approach to Marijuana (SAM).
2012
December 20, 2012, One of California’s most well-established dispensaries, Oakland’s Harborside Health Center gets raided by Federal Agents. Stephen DeAngelo, owner of Harborside Health Center, fights the federal crackdown on the medical cannabis dispensary. A years-long legal battle ensues.
December 6, 2012, Colorado and Washington pass adult use marijuana legislation, becoming the first two states to legalize cannabis cultivation and sale for those 21 and over.
November 6, 2012, Massachusetts Medical Marijuana Initiative passes by ballot, legalizing medical cannabis within the state. Persons with qualifying medical conditions, and permission from their doctors, will be able to purchase and possess medical marijuana. The ballot was overwhelmingly approved - 63% have voted in favor of legalizing medical marijuana.
May 5, 2012, Connecticut passes medical marijuana legislation. Patients with qualifying conditions may be able to obtain medical marijuana under the authorization from a licensed physician.
April 2, 2012, Federal Agents raid Oaksterdam, a cannabis “university” in Oakland, CA, at the heart of the marijuana law reform movement, providing students with high quality training for the cannabis industry.
2011
Charlotte Figi commences treatment with Charlotte's Web cannabis strain for her epilepsy. Charlotte was diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy. However, her condition was not showing any improvements with the medication prescribed.
November 2011, Weedmaps acquires Marijuana.com for $4.2 million. A few weeks later, the company also acquires software entity MMJMenu, which provides back-end software for medical cannabis businesses to track their seed-to-sale operations; Weedmaps begins to expand its business software offerings.
October 2011, Weedmaps partners with NORML to revamp the latter’s website and aid legalization efforts; this signals Weedmaps’ entry into the advocacy sector.
September 2011, Marijuana Business Daily hosts first MJBizCon in Denver. MJBizCon is a cannabis business conference to gather like minded professionals, meet other cannabis business experts, entrepreneurs, vendors, and learn more about the cannabis business industry. Growing to welcome over 30,000 attendees and representatives from 75-plus countries annually, MJBizCon is now regarded as one of the world’s largest and most important cannabis trade shows.
May 13, 2011, Delaware passes medical marijuana legislation. Doctors may legally recommend medical marijuana for the treatment in serious medical conditions. Patients will be protected from arrest if their physician certifies, in writing, that the patient qualifies and would receive therapeutic benefits from the controlled substance. May 1,
2011, The DEA places five synthetic cannabinoids, such as “Spice,” in the Schedule I category of the Controlled Substances Act, given that they are an “imminent hazard to public safety."
2010
Lil Wayne releases “Blunt Blowin,” a single from his album Tha Carter IV. The song peaks at number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100, and is currently certified 2x Platinum, having sold over 2 million digital copies.
November 21, 2010, Weedmaps is acquired by General Cannabis Incorporated for an undisclosed amount. With the acquisition, Weedmaps co-founders Keith Hoerling and Justin Hartfield will enter into a long-term contract with General Cannabis Incorporated under the assumed roles of Chief Tech. Officer and Chief Web Officer.
November 18, 2010, Arizona Prop 203 passes by ballot, legalizing medical cannabis within the state. The same day, Dr. Dre releases “Kush,” featuring Snoop Dogg and Akon. The song peaks at number 11 on the Billboard Rap chart, and the artists later perform the song at that year’s Grammy Interscope Party.
November 9, 2010, Kid Cudi releases “Marijuana,” a track on his album Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager. The song notably lasts 4 minutes and 20 seconds long. Its music video was shot in Amsterdam and directed by actor Shia LaBeouf, a good friend of Kid Cudi’s, while the latter was in the city judging the High Times Cannabis Cup. In April 2011, Kid Cudi announced he had quit smoking cannabis, calling the track “an R.I.P. video to my whole smoking career.” “Marijuana” reached number 54 on the Billboard Hot 100.
November 2010, National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) is founded by Aaron Smith and Steve Fox. The NCIA dedicates itself to to promote growth of legitimate cannabis industry work. The NCIA promotes a favorable economic, social and legal environment within the cannabis business industry.
May 2010, Council of the District of Columbia passes legislation legalizing medical cannabis in Washington, DC. Individuals with qualifying conditions will be legally allowed to obtain medical marijuana from dispensaries that are regulated by the city.
April 14, 2010, Wiz Khalifa releases his mixtape Kush & Orange Juice, featuring numerous odes to cannabis, including “Still Blazin’”. The mixtape becomes the number-one trending topic on Google and Twitter, and is seen as Khalifa’s breakthrough as a mainstream artist.
January 22, 2010, California Supreme Court affirms the 2nd District Court of Appeals’ decision in 2008 that possession limits are unconstitutional. Under this decision, persons who obtain doctors’ recommendations to use cannabis may possess and cultivate as much as “reasonably necessary”.
January 18, 2010, New Jersey Governor John Corzine signs the Compassionate Use Act into law, legalizing medical marijuana legislation. Under the New Jersey Compassionate Use Act, persons who suffer from certain debilitating illnesses may possess medical marijuana with a doctor’s recommendations.
