The state has been at the cutting edge of efforts in recent decades to change cannabis laws, starting in 1972 with the country’s first voting activity trying to legalize weed. Despite the failure of Proposition 19, California would later become the first state to legalize medical marijuana with the 1996 Compassionate Use Act (Proposition 215) section. California voters upheld the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (Proposition 64) on November 2016 to legalize the recreational use of marijuana.