No. Federal law classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), meaning that the government doesn’t recognize its medical use and considers it a substance of high risk for abuse. Possessing, growing, transporting, and distributing marijuana is a federal felony.

Individual laws that have legalized marijuana for recreational or medical use have challenged the federal government, creating a contradiction between the rights of states to create their own regulations and the federal government’s power.

However, the federal government has decided not to interfere with marijuana legalization in states that have decided to do so. In 2009, the Obama administration instructed federal prosecutors not to chase people distributing marijuana following state medical cannabis laws.

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