Cannabis has been illegal at a federal level in the US since 1970, when the Controlled Substances Act was passed by the Congress. Things started to change in 1996, when California became the first state to legalize medicinal use of marijuana. Since then it has been a long and treacherous road, but most states (35 to be more exact) have legalized the medical use of cannabis. In 2012, Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize recreational use of cannabis and some other states follow suit. Currently, 15 states legalized the recreational use of cannabis and in 16 other states the consumption for recreational purposes is de-criminalized, and more reforms in this area are expected in the nearest future.