How many states have medical marijuana laws?

How many states have medical marijuana laws?

Thirteen states have medical marijuana laws, mostly in the mountainous west. But that also includes Hawaii and Alaska. California was the first state to pass proposition 215 in 1996 through a voter initiated referendum, and in that election the voters of California decided that they were going to allow seriously ill people who are designated under the initiative to have medical marijuana as long as their doctor recommended it, their doctor certified that they could benefit from it therapeutically. And ever since 1996 we have seen a cascade of states come through on medical marijuana and pass laws allowing for the use. Most notably and recently New Mexico became a new medical marijuana state.