The legalisation of cannabis in the United States. Results from the ASTRACAN survey

Although cannabis remains prohibited at the federal level, between 2012 and 2023, nearly half of U.S. States have legalised the production, sale, and consumption of cannabis for non-medical (recreational) purposes for adults.

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The provisional assessment of legalisation experiences on the West Coast of the United States shows that legal markets are still in the stabilisation phase, their structuring having to adapt to a regulatory framework that is constantly evolving, partly under pressure from lobbies.

According to public regulatory actors, legalisation is above all a complex process of transition from a market to the legal domain. In the United States, legalisation has resulted in the desire of public authorities to create the conditions for the emergence of a market that is profitable for the local economy, capable of supplanting a well-established underground economy while also pursuing public health and social justice objectives.

The report highlights the diversity of cannabis regulation models, complex governance systems, and the strong dynamics of commercial innovation accompanying legalisation.