California Prop 215 becomes the first U.S. medical marijuana law

California voters approved Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act, on November 5, 1996 by a 56-44 margin, becoming the first U.S. state to legalize medical cannabis for patients with serious illnesses. The federal Schedule I status of marijuana remained unchanged, immediately creating a state-federal conflict that the Clinton administration vowed to prosecute. California's action opened a decade of state-level medical marijuana expansion against federal resistance.