New Jersey will begin recreational marijuana sales soon. Here’s where it’s legal in the U.S.

New Jersey will start selling recreational marijuana on April 21, about a year and a half after voters overwhelmingly approved a measure to legalize it.

The newest industry in the Garden State has an estimated 800,000 potential recreational customers, and roughly 800,000 more potential marijuana "tourists," the commission regulating the state’s cannabis sales reported. Neighboring Pennsylvania has medical cannabis but not recreational, and New York won’t start recreational sales until later this year.

In the 10 years since Colorado and Washington voters became the first in the nation to approve recreational marijuana use, 16 other states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational cannabis. Thirty-seven states have legalized medical marijuana.  

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According to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures, there are only three states in the nation with no cannabis access laws on the books.

Here’s a look at where marijuana laws stand in each state: 

States where recreational and medical marijuana are legal: 

  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • Illinois
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • Michigan
  • Montana
  • Nevada
  • New Jersey
  • New Mexico
  • New York
  • Oregon
  • Vermont
  • Virginia
  • Washington
  • Washington, DC
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Photo credit: ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images

States and territories where ‘comprehensive’ medical marijuana is legal

To meet the criteria for a "comprehensive" medical marijuana program, states must offer protection from criminal penalties; access to cannabis through home growing or dispensaries; a variety of strains and products with more than "low THC," and allow users to smoke or vape the products. The NCSL says they also can’t be limited trial programs like the one underway in Nebraska.

Here are the states and U.S. territories with comprehensive medical marijuana laws:

  • Alabama
  • Arkansas
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Hawaii
  • Louisiana
  • Maryland
  • Minnesota
  • Mississippi
  • Missouri
  • New Hampshire
  • North Dakota
  • Ohio
  • Oklahoma
  • Pennsylvania
  • Rhode Island
  • South Dakota
  • Utah
  • West Virginia
  • Guam
  • Puerto Rico
  • U.S. Virgin Islands

States with low THC/CBD medical marijuana allowances

There are at least 10 states that allow some medical patients access to low THC (the main psychoactive compound in marijuana)/high cannabidiol (CBD) products in limited circumstances or as a legal defense. These include:

  • Georgia
  • Indiana
  • Iowa
  • Kentucky
  • North Carolina
  • South Carolina
  • Texas
  • Tennessee
  • Wisconsin
  • Wyoming

States with no cannabis access laws

  • Idaho
  • Kansas
  • Nebraska

The Associated Press contributed to this report.