The 2020 election led to more American states legalizing marijuana.

Among the states voting to legalize marijuana for recreational use were South Dakota, New Jersey, Arizona and Montana. Voters in Mississippi approved the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Currently, 15 American states permit recreational marijuana, while 36 others have made it legal for medicinal use. The passing of legalization measures in recent years has demonstrated that the efforts generally have had bipartisan support.

A recent public opinion study by the Gallup organization found that 68 percent of Americans favor the legalization of marijuana. That is two times greater than the percentage of people who said so in 2003.

The study found that just under half of Republicans and people who identify as politically conservative think marijuana should be legal. Of people who said they attend church every week, 48 percent said they favor legalizing the drug.

Matthew Schweich is deputy director of the Marijuana Policy Project, which favors legalization. He told The Associated Press that despite “a war” against marijuana in the U.S. for the past 100 years, “that war has been an abject failure.”

Marijuana is still illegal at the federal level. So, it cannot be used to treat people at Veterans Affairs medical centers. Schweich says some veterans suffering from pain have been forced to turn to highly addictive opioid medications.

Groups supporting legalization are now seeking to get marijuana removed from a federal list of illegal drugs that have no accepted medical use and a high probability of abuse.