Acceptance of Medical Marijuana Grows

(Jan. 25) -- New Jersey is the latest state to legalize medical marijuana, continuing a trend that began on the West Coast 14 years ago.

Fourteen states have agreed to let doctors prescribe pot to treat certain ailments since California got things rolling in 1996. The law outgoing New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine signed on Jan. 18 takes effect in six months. New York, Illinois and Maryland are among the states considering medical marijuana. The District of Columbia is on the verge of allowing it. And in neighboring Virginia, state Delegate Harvey B. Morgan, a 79-year-old Republican, has raised eyebrows by proposing decriminalization as well as marijuana-by-prescription.

Eighty-one percent of American adults questioned for a new ABC News/Washington Post poll said they favor legalizing pot for medicinal use. The Justice Department announced in October that it won't go after people who abide by state medical marijuana laws. But the message from Washington is mixed because the Drug Enforcement Administration still classifies pot as a Schedule 1 drug that has no legitimate medical use.

The map below shows how medical marijuana laws have spread across the country over the years.