Marijuana: The Legalization After the sustaining vote in November of 1996 and coming into effect the beginning of this year, marijuana is now legal to medical patients in California and Arizona. Proposition 215 reads as follows: The people of the State of California hereby find and declare that the purposes of the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 are as follows: (A) To ensure that seriously ill Californians have the right to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes where that medical use is deemed appropriate and has been recommended by a physician who has determined that the person's health would benef