How America’s outlook for medical marijuana has changed since Prop 215 was passed 25 years ago

It is difficult to put into words how far the fight to end the marijuana ban has come. It can be assumed that much of this progress would not have been possible without the adoption of California’s Prop 215 in November 1996.

The passage of Prop 215 enabled Californians to buy, own, and use marijuana a select handful of conditions like cancer, glaucoma, arthritis, HIV and AIDS. Since the law was passed, medical marijuana has steadily changed the way many Americans view cannabis.

Here are some key aspects of how the nation’s attitude towards cannabis has changed over the past quarter century.

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By exposing skeptics to the healing properties of cannabis

Since medical marijuana was relatively unknown to most Americans, the concept had to be put to the test before most people’s trust was won. The passage of Prop 215 allowed people to see firsthand how medical marijuana could improve people’s lives.

Seeing how medical marijuana helped patients with numerous medical conditions had an impact not only on the general public but also the medical community, as research into the therapeutic effects of medical marijuana was largely a mystery within the profession.

RELATED: 5 Conditions You Didn’t Know Cannabis Helped Treat

Findings from medical marijuana patients in California provided enough evidence for other states to establish medical marijuana programs of their own. Today, medical marijuana is legal in 36 states in the country.

By opening the door to more cannabis research that clears up common cannabis-related myths

Another reason the Prop 215 passage is partly responsible for changing Americans’ attitudes towards cannabis is because it was instrumental in breaking age-old myths about marijuana. Before Prop 215 was passed, there was almost no research on the therapeutic effects of medical marijuana.

RELATED: 3 Marijuana Myths That Need To Be Debunked Right Now

According to the marijuana policy project Efforts to study the medicinal effects of cannabis have been largely banned by the DEA. While circumstances surrounding medical marijuana research have improved since Prop 215 was passed, more needs to be done for scientists to fully understand the potential of marijuana’s therapeutic benefits.

Medical marijuana helped Americans warm up the idea of ​​recreational marijuana use and sales

There are numerous components that have contributed to marijuana’s changing attitudes, but the passage of Prop 215 was the catalyst. For example, Attitudes began to change quickly towards marijuana once the law is passed. In 2000, the number of Americans advocating recreational cannabis legalization was only 34%. This number has now more than doubled to 86%.

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Aside from the fact that Prop 215 allowed Americans to see firsthand that cannabis could be effective in treating medical ailments, the introduction of medical marijuana showed that there is no reason why humans shouldn’t be able to should go to a store and buy cannabis like any other product.

While the war on drugs is not over yet, the passage of Prop 215 in California signaled that it probably wouldn’t last long. Now that more than half the US has legalized medical marijuana, the implications of the law are clear.

This makes it a little easier to be optimistic that 25 years after Prop 215 was passed, the end of the drug war could be closer than we think.