How Marijuana Is Both Legal and Illegal in the U.S.

More than half of the states in the U.S. have legalized recreational and medical marijuana use. However, cannabis remains just as illegal as heroin on the federal level. This environment can be tricky to navigate, both for cannabis businesses and for the lawyers who advise them. In this video, Boston University law professor Jay Wexler explains how states got around the federal ban on cannabis, and Lauren Thomas, general counsel of the marijuana software company, Dutchie, describes the unique legal challenges that cannabis businesses face. (Produced by Macarena Carrizosa; Senior Producer: Andrew Satter; Executive Producer: Josh Block)

50 Comments

  1. R҉i҉g҉t҉H҉ on May 22, 2022 at 10:35 pm

    State law is supposed to Trump federal law



  2. Harry Harmon on May 22, 2022 at 10:36 pm

    Why doesn’t the GOP step in and legalize it….????
    Is it because the Democrats wants it legal…????



  3. idontgotnothin on May 22, 2022 at 10:36 pm

    Lets go Texas, figure it out already.



  4. Sweathawg Boudreaux on May 22, 2022 at 10:37 pm

    well, i just heard on TV a well educated liberial say black and white isnt a color!!



  5. George P Briles on May 22, 2022 at 10:37 pm

    Aaaah their buddies were making billions a year selling the stuff on the illegal trade while they were preaching this garbage to the masses it’s disgusting!



  6. bruce neander on May 22, 2022 at 10:38 pm

    Legalize it



  7. Ricardo d'savant on May 22, 2022 at 10:38 pm

    The war on drugs is unconstitutional. I grow my own untaxed and unregulated cannabis and magic mushrooms. Try and arrest me DEA. 🤣



  8. Nith Phasavath on May 22, 2022 at 10:38 pm

    Legalize marijuana so we all can enjoy it it’s not fair that some states have it legalized and some can even get an ounce



  9. Ed` Bland on May 22, 2022 at 10:39 pm

    JUICING CANNABIS will rejuvenate and regulate people without INTOXICATING them.
    I had 2 know WHY I was ‘returned’ from DEATH so did a SPIRITUAL MEDITATION.
    Hello, I am the great great grandson of BLACK ELK. He had a daughter that married a white man named JINKS. Because he was white the tribe disowned her.
    I was ‘returned’ so HUMANITY could be ADVANCED.
    I wrecked my Harley not wearing my helmet that stopped my HEART 3 times, broke my pelvic bone in 5 places requiring a brace bolted, crushed my chest breaking all ribs many times puncturing both lungs, put me into an 87 day coma waking with a 5.5 brain injury requiring relearning life. Once returning home I tried having my doctor do an MRI of my brain to compare to my wreck. He refused telling me that BIG PHARMA will financially destroy any doctor that proves THC restores brain injuries.
    Earth must be restored by growing HEMP world wide.
    ENDOCANNABINOID SYSTEM proves THC grows cells.
    ~ Only GOD can return me from ‘death’. ~ I am one of the CREATORS ‘healing’ warriors.



  10. Guitar Vientiane on May 22, 2022 at 10:39 pm

    Yeah i know weed is addicted but it’s still better than other drugs…



  11. earnest w on May 22, 2022 at 10:40 pm

    Think about the insanity 500 politicians that decide to Faith for $330 million Americans.



  12. serespecialist1 on May 22, 2022 at 10:44 pm

    Regardless if they legalize it or not, drug traffickers know they can sell it cheaper then the taxed weed. Even medicinal weed is going to the streets cuz it’s cheaper.



  13. Bombarded1 on May 22, 2022 at 10:44 pm

    It’s legit in so many states medical facilities etc why the feds hasn’t legalized it has to be money from convictions Big Money in prison systems for federal systems to stupid to understand the tax income possibility of legal weed and up the anti on dealers to the death penalty No Mercy pots dangerous as heroine is a obliterated brain commenting stupidity with no facts to back up anything Stupidity Rules is why it’s not legal



  14. Flores Chris on May 22, 2022 at 10:45 pm

    Legalize it



  15. Frederick Forshag on May 22, 2022 at 10:46 pm

    Unless you are a stage 3 cancer or lukimeia patient… The government has been handing out 50 pre rolled marijuana cigarettes in big round tins to these people since the 70’s when they made it illegal for everyone else. ABC even did a special on it years ago. Its the only "narcotic" in the world that doesnt have a detox program. It had medical purposes. Even legal alcohol sold at just about every corner store has detox programs everywhere and has casued way more fatal wrecks that pot ever will. They couldn’t figure out how to tax it so they made it a tool to lock up minoritys. Go learn some facts. Smdh End marijuana federal probation. The war on drugs was lost a long time ago.



  16. Andrew Sandberg on May 22, 2022 at 10:47 pm

    We don’t give a shit about the federal law



  17. Anthony Hairston on May 22, 2022 at 10:49 pm

    The Scientist Medical Marijuana: Studying For a Higher PurposeProf. Dr. Raphael Mechoulam



  18. xxDADMONKEYxx -RAY on May 22, 2022 at 10:50 pm

    You people are stupid marijuana you cannot overdose it is not a gateway drug your gateway drug is alcohol I’ve never smoked a joint and said hey let’s go fuck some shit up that’s what alcohol does to you you get drunk you want to do some cocaine smoke some meth slam some heroin and go out and fucking kill someone marijuana is not a gateway drug if you’re stupid it is



  19. Joesph Reiley on May 22, 2022 at 10:51 pm

    Biden will not make Cannabis legal at the federal level, he made that absolutely clear.



  20. vir on May 22, 2022 at 10:51 pm

    The legalization of marijuana should be regulated at federal level to protect children and teens. The news at the TV was about a teen smokes marijuana and passed out drooling. All the dispensaries around the country should be monitoring and check the content. How much they sell? The dispensary that sells the product to the kids, should be immediately close. A girl purchased a lollipop couldn’t close the mouth and dull until the effect pass away. Any adult providing kids with marijuana should go to jail. Human being should always have rules and regulations. Protect the people.



  21. Barbara Barker on May 22, 2022 at 10:54 pm

    Legalize it federally



  22. JD Batson on May 22, 2022 at 10:55 pm

    👍 Bill of Freedom … Pro cannabis …. Cannabis was legal pre 1935 … My dad has Cannabis strains technically …. "Elvis" "Bubba Kush" and others … I personally don’t think cannabis is the problem



  23. The Chosen One on May 22, 2022 at 10:56 pm

    2:39 crystal meth is schedule 2 not 1



  24. Gunpowder Nitro on May 22, 2022 at 10:59 pm

    Bull shit banks will take every dollar they can they just don’t want there name in the same sentence as Marijuana crooked America



  25. ItsWAWGaming on May 22, 2022 at 11:03 pm

    To those thinking marijuana is bad and their pharmacy drugs that their doctors prescribe them are good for them, ever notice how if you decide to stop taking them or if you forget them one day you feel awful and like you want to die? That’s because pharmaceutical drugs are insanely addictive chemical substances, and almost all of them are synthetic compounds.
    Natural Materials and Plants are rarely used for Rx anymore like way back once upon a time, It’s all money and chemicals now and addiction.
    Any and all drugs in the department of mental health go by all sorts of brands and "compound names" but in reality most mental health related medications are derived from or use active amphetamine as a main ingredient, for example ADHD medications are all from the Amphetamine family, (yes the as in the same chemical family Methamphetamine comes from).
    They don’t help you, they just addict you for profit and if you stop taking them you get the absolute worst withdrawals of your life so bad you feel like your dying at times.



  26. sam montiforte on May 22, 2022 at 11:04 pm

    Yea cuz we are getting fuged in the south. Making us criminals.



  27. Charles Clement on May 22, 2022 at 11:04 pm

    It doesn’t matter, because as soon as they get ahold of the industry, they will poison the marijuana, just like they do our food.



  28. Super Sauce on May 22, 2022 at 11:04 pm

    Buy LEGAL THC Gummies shipped to all 50 states. Use code YOUTUBE for 30% Off at https://MeleeDose.com



  29. hugokatz on May 22, 2022 at 11:04 pm

    The war on drugs was our replacement of the Jim Crow laws. We couldn’t just throw a person in jail for being black, so Nixon used the war on drugs, thinking only blacks, Mexicans and hippies used drugs. We’ve created the world’s largest police state to wage the war on drugs. The resulting crime wave corrupted both citizens and police alike. William F Buckley vigorously warned us not to do this.



  30. Staying Anonymous. on May 22, 2022 at 11:05 pm

    NIXON SUCKED.



  31. Krasimir Aleksandrov on May 22, 2022 at 11:06 pm

    Wtffffffff they said MJ is next to heroin.. I’ve done heroin! It’s not even close are u serious



  32. EMZjester on May 22, 2022 at 11:07 pm

    I am glad I live in IL for once. Marijuana has worked wonders for my sleep. The only thing that is criminal is that it is illegal.



  33. James Runions on May 22, 2022 at 11:09 pm

    Its a flower. If someone tells you that you can’t grow or smoke a flower. then they are a dictator. What if someone said you can’t drink coffee. Because its bad for you. And it is. Same thing. Make cigarettes illegal. I’m addicted to cigarettes.



  34. Brian Maney on May 22, 2022 at 11:09 pm

    Idiot 🧠 washed idiots… Stop calling it by Anslinger’s racist term "marijuana".



  35. Like Kane on May 22, 2022 at 11:11 pm

    The jiggly graphics made me nauseous. Why do they have to move like flags waving in the air? Oh, time to light up! Problem solved 😉



  36. @listakXXX on May 22, 2022 at 11:12 pm

    Cognitive bias, that is when you dismiss evidence that suggests that your theory is wrong.



  37. Queen Bluntress on May 22, 2022 at 11:13 pm

    It’s decriminalized April 1 2022 hold on let me vape this sativa I needed to smoke for senate to sign it legal. I am allergic to whatever is in pills. I have ptsd this vape keeps me calm. I tried CBD. My son had to go out and find a thc vape. I was breaking down. I smoke sativa I don’t say anyone should smoke it’s harsh on lungs. It’s better to eat it. Trust me kids any smoke in your lungs everyday isn’t good. Please make sure you take care of your lungs. Don’t buy weed off the street don’t trust people with your weed. You want it clean not dirty. ❤️❤️I gotta go back to getting stoned now. ❤️❤️❤️❤️



  38. Charles Clement on May 22, 2022 at 11:13 pm

    These Satanist should have never made it illegal in the first place. Meanwhile we have Heroine and meth killing people.



  39. Aiden Vincentius on May 22, 2022 at 11:13 pm

    Mafia did it with elections and alchole and herion in 17 1800s just very differently think about it idk grow some weed who gives a fuck about talking about just fucking smoke know how to test your weed lol 😂 fuck yo not complicated



  40. Bill Wood on May 22, 2022 at 11:17 pm

    Today is my 59th birthday! I just lost my job of 3 years because of a positive THC drug test. (In Blue Ridge GA) The person who I served is disabled and now deprived of my service. (I never used while working) I have Glaucoma and PTSD and Pot helps better than anything else I’ve tried…. Plus I like how it makes me feel. I am now without a job…. and this sucks. I am heart-broken for my friend that I served. I love and miss him, and my fellow co-workers.



  41. Aiden Vincentius on May 22, 2022 at 11:18 pm

    War on cannabis people who own shops use to sell real truth nothing new under sun just legally owning from votes



  42. Johnathan Kusturin on May 22, 2022 at 11:20 pm

    This is why your worthless government is just that worthless and should not be tolerated



  43. brian on May 22, 2022 at 11:22 pm

    Legalize !!!!! NC



  44. Alfredo Vasquez on May 22, 2022 at 11:24 pm

    Bull, Nixon is the one that pushed GIs
    Into combat ino Vietnam war even if GIs had guts hanging. It was the worst battle of the hippie era. The war in drugs not on drugs



  45. Oriental Magi The art of NinKu on May 22, 2022 at 11:26 pm

    You forgot to mention Arizona!



  46. Donald Duffield on May 22, 2022 at 11:29 pm

    Nd is medical only not recreational so if smoking it anywhere outher than in home you might get arrested this also go for any part of yard areas it can get you a felony . you can get it and take it home if do have any papers from a doc. saying what it’s for and a copy if need a lawyer if do get arrested and a felony charge and yes a car is under recreational if driving or not . if whas transporting it home from store and yes they watch the places and try to nail you and a fake paper is also illegal. the arest after a store and seen leaving could fall under illegal Entrapment lawsuit.for understanding ask a lawyer



  47. floyd semlow on May 22, 2022 at 11:30 pm

    Educate regulate decriminalize legalize 💯



  48. Cosmo 🌱💚 on May 22, 2022 at 11:31 pm

    makes no sense. watch this crap be legalized in every state but the federal government still makes it illegal. Need these old ass people out of the government already. They obviously don’t care about the public and what they want.



  49. Adam Bresette on May 22, 2022 at 11:32 pm

    I have never cared for the legal status of it legalize it or not I really don’t care it won’t affect me or my money



  50. Anthony Navarro on May 22, 2022 at 11:32 pm

    and America Still fighting Nixon war a dead president 😂😆😂😆