November 2012Peer-reviewedWell documented
Colorado and Washington Legalize
On the timeline · around November 2012 ·
What happened
In 2012, voters in Colorado and Washington approved ballot measures legalizing recreational cannabis for adults over 21 — the first U.S. jurisdictions to replace prohibition with a legal, taxed and regulated market.
Why it matters
They pioneered the modern legal-cannabis industry and set a template — much like alcohol and tobacco regulation — that many states would follow.
Sources
Related timelines
- Tobacco → — A taxed, regulated market, like tobacco's