Today, more than half of Americans live in states where recreational use is legal, and three-quarters live in places that allow medical marijuana.(Getty Images)

It wasn’t too long ago that commemorating 4/20, marijuana culture’s unofficial high holiday, meant breaking the law. As recently as 15 years ago, smoking weed for fun was forbidden everywhere in the U.S., and only a third of states allowed marijuana use for medical purposes.

Plenty of people still used marijuana, of course, but they had to do so in secret. The prevailing legend about how 4/20 got its name even centers on a group of high schoolers in the 1970s who decided to meet up for a clandestine pot harvest in the woods.