Legal Marijuana in Focus: Colorado

Just because pot is legal in a state doesn't mean dispensaries are, at least right away. Of the 24 pot-legal areas in the country, roughly half have working dispensaries. For the rest of the areas, some are welcome to grow their own marijuana but not to distribute them or allow consumption in public. There is a bill for legalizing pot and another for allowing dispensaries to do business in a state.

Colorado is one of a handful of dispensary-friendly states, but a closer look at its history reveals a milestone. It was in Denver that the first man in U.S. history was convicted of selling pot.

Legal Marijuana in Focus: Alaska

Cannabis may not survive in the frigid Alaskan north, but the use of this herb remains sunny in the Final Frontier. In fact, southern parts of the state provide the right climate for cultivation.

Over half of Alaskan voters voted in favor of Ballot Measure 8, which legalized of the drug in 1998. Like Oregon, Alaska is racing to become the third state to legalize marijuana for recreational use this November. So far, it's a neck-to-neck race, but it will all come down to who can formalize the legalization first.

Legal Marijuana in Focus: California

Legal medical marijuana continues to shape the country, bringing much needed relief to those who really need it. If you really want to see these changes, however, you'll need to look closer, as in by state. Follow this special report on how states have come to legalize the controversial drug.

First on the list is "ground zero." California, where it all began.

The Golden State became the first state in the U.S. to legalize pot in 1996 via Ballot Proposition 215. The proposition, which was eventually known as the Compassionate Use Act on November 5th, was met with criticism about the lack of details. Democrat senator Diane Feinstein was one of Proposition 215's staunchest opponents.

However, the fate of the proposition wasn't determined by the legislature; it was determined by the people. More than five million Californians, roughly 56 percent of the entire state, voted for the legalization of medical marijuana. Soon enough, every county in California wholeheartedly, if not halfheartedly, accepted the voice of the people.

California followed with Senate Bill 420, which took effect in 2004 as the Medical Marijuana Program Act. Under the Act, a qualified patient may possess no more than eight ounces of dried pot and six (mature) or twelve (immature) pot plants. The Act also provided state protection for medical marijuana dispensaries, given that they dispense products with due requirements.

As of 2012, California remains as having the largest medical pot community in the country, with more than 553,000 patients (based on voluntary registration).