Medical marijuana legalization and slavery abolishment; a chronological analysis

This article was originally published on the Marijuana Patients Organization site on September 22, 2013.

Seems odd to say, comparing medical marijuana with slavery in the United States, but lets face it, it’s very similar. So what states abolished slavery first, and what states were the first to legalize medical marijuana? Was there a correlation between a state’s history of slavery and it’s modern medical marijuana policy?

Those pioneer states that legalized medical marijuana over the past 20 years are mainly on the west coast and most were founded after 1863, the 13th Amendment that abolished slavery. Coincidentally, the nation’s first state to legalize medical marijuana in 1996, California also abolished slavery immediately after becoming a recognized state in 1848, proving to be the most progressive state in our study. The west coast has always leaned left, however, does the pre-mature abolishment of slavery laws correlate to a state’s likelihood of legalizing medical marijuana? It appears so. We can show that as Americans, geographically, progressive attitudes have remained for over 200 years. Where they freed men they free marijuana.

Below are dates  of US States and their abolishment of slavery compared to the enactment of medical-marijuana legislation. Those more progressive states that never had slavery, or were the early colonies to abandon slavery, also lead the way in legalizing medical marijuana today. It should also be noted that as of this article, no southern states that fought for the confederacy as a recognized State have yet to legalize medical marijuana.