Voters in Washington and Colorado legalize recreational marijuana

By Eric Pfeiffer, Yahoo! News | The Ticket – 1 hr 23 mins ago

It's been quite the night for marijuana in several ballot measures across the country.

Voters in Washington state and Colorado voted to approve measures that would legalize the sale of pot to adults, without the need for a doctor's prescription.


Massachusetts voters have overwhelmingly approved a medical marijuana ballot measure. (AP)

And earlier Tuesday evening, voters in Massachusetts overwhelmingly approved the measure to allow the use of medical marijuana.

While the final votes are still being counted in Washington and Colorado, voters appear to have approved the marijuana legalization initiatives by a broad margin.

So far, states that have approved medical marijuana have walked a fine line with federal laws that still prohibit the sale of marijuana under any circumstances. The full legalization of marijuana in these two states is expected to increase that tension between local and federal laws.

In total, six states are considering marijuana initiatives.

"Now that this law has been passed, it will finally be legal and safe for myself and many others in the state to procure the medicine," Eric McCoy, 59, told the Boston Globe.

Oregon voters are considering a similar measure to those passed in Washington and Colorado, which would allow marijuana use for any individual over the age of 21.

In addition, Arkansas and Montana have medical marijuana initiatives on their ballots. Medical marijuana is already legal in Montana, but voters are deciding whether to restrict patient access in the state.

NBC News reports that 17 states and the District of Columbia already have laws allowing for the medical use of marijuana, according to the National Council of Legislatures.

Voters in Washington and Colorado legalize recreational marijuana | The Ticket - Yahoo! News