In 1996, California became the first state in the nation to allow medicinal use of marijuana. By a margin of 55.6% to 44.4%, California voters passed the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, which exempted patients and their caregivers from criminal liability for the possession and cultivation of marijuana for medicinal use.

A decade later, by a margin of 57.1% to 46.5%, California voters passed the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, which made it legal for adults 21 and older to possess and cultivate limited amounts of marijuana for personal use.