The process of making the production, sale, possession, and use of cannabis legal under the law, typically through changes in local, state, or national legislation. When cannabis is legalized, it is regulated much like alcohol or tobacco, with rules regarding who can buy or sell it, where it can be consumed, and how much can be legally possessed or grown. Legalization differs from decriminalization, which reduces penalties for cannabis-related activities but doesn’t fully legalize or regulate them.
🔊 lee·gul·ih·ZAY·shun
In the Wild — Example
Full legalization in New Jersey changed the conversation from if to when everywhere else in the region.
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