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Subscribe to RSSVoters in Colorado and Washington on Tuesday approved measures allowing adults to use marijuana for any purpose, NBC News projected, marking an historic turning point in the slow-growing acceptance of marijuana usage.
In Massachusetts, voters also approved an initiative allowing people to use marijuana for medicinal purposes, NBC News projected. In Arkansas, a similar initiative failed, according to NBC News projections.
In all, voters in six states were being asked to decide on a wide array of laws around legalizing marijuana for medicinal or recreational purposes.
In three of those states – Colorado, Oregon and Washington – voters were deciding whether to allow people over 21 to use marijuana for any purpose. In Oregon, NBC News projected that the initiative to legalize marijuana had failed.
In Montana, NBC News projected that voters had approved a plan to to revamp an existing medicinal marijuana law to make it more restrictive.
NBC's Lester Holt takes a look at states where voters approved recreational use of marijuana.
The laws legalizing marijuana for recreational or other purposes could face federal challenges, because marijuana possession is still a federal crime. But so far, the Justice Department has declined to discuss how it might react if the laws pass. Late Tuesday, a spokesman said in an e-mail that they were reviewing the Colorado initiative and had no immediate comment.
Proponents say it’s about time pot was made legal and that it would create new avenues of tax revenue. But opponents say legalization would lead to more drug abuse and concerns about things like driving while impaired.
Opponent Kevin Sabet, a former senior advisor to the Obama administration and an assistant professor at the University of Florida’s college of medicine, said he was expecting legal challenges at the state and federal level.
“This is just the beginning of the legalization conversation, so my advice to people who want to toke up legally or think that they can buy marijuana at a store tomorrow is that we’re a very long way from (that),” Sabet said.
Proponents of the legislation also said they expected some legal wrangling.
“It sets up a clear and obvious challenge with the federal government,” said Allen St. Pierre, executive director of NORML, which has fought for years to legalize cannabis.
But proponents also were celebrating what they saw as a turning point in a long-running battle to make marijuana more available to the general public.
“We are reaching a real tipping point with cannabis law reform,” said Steve DeAngelo, a longtime advocate for legalizing marijuana and the director of the nation’s largest medical cannbabis dispensary, Harborside Health Center in Oakland, Calif.
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper acknowledged legal challenges but said the state would work to resolve the conflict between federal and state laws.
"It's probably going to pass, but it's still illegal on a federal basis. If we can't make it legal here because of federal laws, we certainly want to decriminialize it,” he told NBC’s Brian Williams.
Seventeen states and the District of Columbia already have laws allowing for the medical use of marijuana, according to the National Council of Legislatures.
The initiatives in Washington, Oregon and Colorado would take things one step further, explicitly allowing people to smoke pot for more than just medicinal purposes.
The idea of legalizing marijuana has gained acceptance in recent years. A Gallup poll released in October of 2011 found that 50 percent of Americans now favor legalizing pot. A decade ago, only around 34 percent were in favor. Liberals and adults under 29 are the most likely to approve of legalizing use of the drug.
Here’s a look at the states considering marijuana laws Tuesday.
Arkansas: Voters in Arkansas will consider whether to legalize marijuana for medical purposes.
Colorado: Voters in Colorado are being asked to approve a bill that would allow people 21 and over to possess and use a small amount of marijuana for recreational purposes. A similar measure was defeated in 2006.
Massachusetts: Voters in Massachusetts are being asked to vote on whether it’s OK to legalize marijuana for medical purposes.
Montana: In 2004, voters in Montana approved a law allowing marijuana for medical purposes. Then, in 2011, the legislature approved replacing it with a new, more restrictive one. Voters on Tuesday will decide whether to allow those restrictions to be upheld.
Oregon: Voters in Oregon are being asked to decide whether to legalize marijuana use for people who are 21 years or older, and to tax and regulate it in the same way as alcohol.
Washington: The Washington bill would allow people over age 21 to possess a small amount of pot for personal use.
More election coverage from NBCNews.com:
- Obama wins re-election; Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin prove pivotal
- Democrats gain in Senate with wins in four states
- Rape remarks sink two Republican Senate hopefuls
- In costliest-ever Senate race, Warren beats Brown for Mass. seat
- Republicans to maintain control of House, NBC News projects
- Colorado, Washington approve recreational marijuana use
- In 11 governor races, it's about jobs and taxes
- Majority of voters see American on wrong track
Leave a Comment:
Don't bogart that joint
pass it over to me
"But opponents say legalization would lead to more drug abuse and concerns about things like driving while impaired."
Question: How is the prohibition of it stopping that now? IT"S NOT!
while I don't condone it I'd still rather have a stoned person driving 20 under and stopping at green lights then a drunk one doing 20 over and running reds. But they are both still DUIs in Colo. and should be.
Eventually, lawyers defending stoned drivers will start bringing out the studies that show marijuana does not cause any measurable loss of psycho motor skills, or impair driving ability. It probably makes you a safer driver, because you are more cautious and drive a little slower while maintaining a little more distance between yourself and the car you're following, with greater awareness of potential danger in developing situations you are approaching. the only drawback the studies reveal is a little loss of peripheral vision. Less peripheral vision loss than someone who wears glasses. Pot is nothing like alcohol, it's the opposite of alcohol. Being concerned over stoned drivers, because drunk drivers are dangerous, is like being concerned over your kids taking vitamin C, because arsenic is bad for them.
ht t p://blog.norml.org/2011/11/29/want-to-lower-traffic-fatalities-try-legalizing-medical-marijuana/
Remove extra spaces in http.
The feds have wasted TOO much $$$ (LEO's, prisons, courts, ect.) fighting pot! They need to war it out on the 'Hard' drugs like meth, coke, heroin, crooked politics, ect.!
I guess now is the time to get educated. marijuana education, learn what all these new laws mean to YOU from attorneys.
Great news! Stoned journalists always make more sense when their readers are also stoned.
Should be interesting. All those stoned MD's performing taxpayer funded abortions on all those butt babies.
Tax revenue and legitimate jobs. This is a huge win for those two states. Hopefully once the revenue streams in other states will follow suit. This is supposedly a country where voting means something: so the federal gov't should back off and let the will of the people take place.
We have some foreclosed homes, you people might want to look into. Colorado, for all the talk of snowstorms, actually has a relatively mild climate. Even if you don't move here (bringing educated workers, jobs, and money), we (Colorado) try to make your vacation as nice as possible. Eat a cannabis candy, then hike a 14er! My favorite! (I never got my medicinal license, so now I'm finally legal!)
I am happy Obama was re-elected, but am unhappy to see the federal government still overreaching it's constitutional authority by managing state lands and enacting laws that do not pertain to the nation's general welfare. Whether or not a endangered thistle cactus flower native to Arizona is protected, or people in a state grow and consume their own pot is entirely up to the legislature of the affected state as long as said practices do not cross state lines, making it a federal issue.
For too long now there has been a perception federal law trumps state law in all situations. That is simply not so as "The NATURE OF GOVERNMENT" under CONSTITUTIONAL LAW clearly stipulates the Federal law is supreme only in cases where such a law can reasonably fall within the enumerated powers granted to Congress in the US Constitution......And the meaning of "Provide for the general welfare" pertains to the nation as a whole, not persons of a particular community or state.....As long as no state lines are breached, or a state legislature does not infringe upon any of the enumerated powers granted to Congress, the state law is supreme within it's boundaries.
So, if a state elects to internally grow and sell pot soley for consumption by state residents, it is within it's legislative power to do so..............
for the record; I am not, nor have ever been a pot smoker
surprised about oregon, which is about as blue as a state can be.
IT must be the Happy Trails.......lol
I truly have no problem with legalized marijuana. Legalize it and tax it.
I would rather be around a bunch of stoners than a bunch of drunks. Crime would drop. Our jails wouldn't be full of people who simply had a few ounces of pot. The Cartels would be seriously impacted.
My question is, if pot is going to be legal for everyone, will insurance companies stop paying for medical marijuana? After all, it will now be an OTC drug.
It's kinda funny.Employers will still be able to test for drugs and alcohol.Funny thing pot stays in your system longer.Myself a little disappointed.How about all the minors using and taking pot from thier parents stash or one thing even worse parents toking up with thier minor children more than ever.Remember all the stoners at high school who dropped out.There will be an increase of those..How about people who end up getting contact highs from people lighting up wherever they please.How about babies being exposed to pot smoke from thier parents.Alot of interesting things to think about.I doubt anybody ever really took a good long look at the long term effects of casual pot smoking on everybody not just the smokers.Besides big business will take it over eventually unless it gets overturned.Just a snack for thought.
american,
What about the stoners like Bill & Hillary Clinton, George W. Steve Jobs, Bill Gates or thousands of others who went on to make something of themselves?.....Everyone who smokes pot is no more a stoner than everyone who drinks alcohol is an alcoholic.
My company already accepts medical marijuana cards if you flunk a drug screen. The job isn't in a state with medical MJ, but many of my coworkers live across the state line, where they have it. I believe if it becomes legal, they'll just stop testing for it.
Here are facts you should consider.
Alcohol is a legal drug, by far the most commonly used drug in the world.
In the United States, 50%-60% of physical attacks in the home involved alcohol use
80,000 deaths each year related to binge drinking.--
2.5 million people die each year from alcohol related causes --
55% of all murders are alcohol related --
Most drug users begin with alcohol and nicotine before marijuana — usually before they are of legal age.(Source: This study was supported under Contract No. DC7C02 from the Executive Office of the President, Office of National Drug Control Policy)
“The science is clear that alcohol is more dangerous than marijuana.” -- Dr. Aaron M. White, PhD, Professor of Psychology.
Marijuana is safer, so why are we driving people to drink? Legalize It!
Anyone know what the job markets are like in Co and Wa?
Just asking... <smirk>
About the same. BUT, we are looking for a few good farmers!
Rumor has it, there are quite a few farmers who are eager to start growing hemp.
Pot is as easy to get as beer, you can find it any where. Thank God I live in a state where the voters realize the tax benefit of legalizing it, now the state can get the money that used to go to the dealers. Good for you Washington!! Congrats to Obama! now all of you mentally challenged right wing racists can go cry in your beer and. Stupid ass hillbilly's YOU LOST!!!!! Take Romney and crawl back under your rocks.
I am so thankful that we have at least taken a step in the right direction on this issue. Personally, I don't smoke and likely won't in the future. But I have a friend who was a victim of our nation's draconian drug laws. He never hurt anyone but 9 years ago drugs were found in his home that belonged to a girl he was living with. And after all the money he spent on lawyers, the time spent fighting in court, and completing his sentence, it still does not go away. He is no longer allowed to either provide for his family or even live in certain neighborhoods. It's kind of scary because I have known this person all my life and he never thought about being a "criminal" before. But as he gets more and more desperate to provide for his family he talks about turning to crime and theft as he has fewer options. There should be ways to get past his past and not have a life sentence. It will eventually hurt all of us.
It already hurts all of us when we hold these non-violent "criminals" in jail.
Regarding the Federal law that outlaws pot and classifies it as more dangerous than cocaine and methamphetamine: Isn't it time to abolish Nixon's war on Hippies and leave it up to the states to decide?
Who is going to pay for all the dumb things that pot smokers do?? Never mind the loss of productivity.
The pot smokers that I have known are not stupid and are as productive as the next guy. I haven't known any who smoke at or before work. It's pretty much the same for the people I know that drink alcohol occasionally.
I regularly see/treat pot smokers who crash cars, crash motorcycles and find other innumerably ways to maim themselves and others. There is no doubt that THC over time makes people dumb and unmotivated. I really have no problem with this as long as long as society at large does not have to pick up the tab.
While working a test desk in a corner near the area they went to, to be in private, I overheard a suit grilling the supervisor of the cabling department in an electronics manufacturing plant about a massive drop in both production and quality. Her response came in the form of a complaint, given with the tone of an accusation. "You hit my whole department with a piss test last month. I always lose all my best workers for marijuana." He just looked at her, unable to respond, and walked away.
Then you see a bunch of losers who would probably be worse if they drank alcohol. Losers will be losers regardless of what drug they use. Personally I never smoke before work or before driving. It's something that I responsibly enjoy whenever I wanna kick back and relax or have fun after work.
Who is going to pay the medical bills for the morbidly obese people that unwisely abuse food?
What about cigarette smokers and the lost productivity that their habit incurs?
I dont know .........TOO many FAT pot smokers.......as a matter of fact.......they are kind of skinny.........lol
Folks have been smoking POT FOREVER and the WORLD keeps spinning.......habit?............lost productivity?.......please......thats why LIquour and prescription drugs are at an all time HIGH right?
Face it.........the Inidans wont be the ONLY ones ......legally smoking the Peace Pipe in America anymore........
FIRE IT UP!!!!!!!!!!
I'm confused by the 1 ounce allowed, but six plants allowed as well. Six plants is a lot of pot. Do you have to destroy everything over 1 ounce harvested, or sale it to the state. Does it allow an amount being dried for use as well as a ready for use ounce? And Doesn't having the plants amount to possession of several ounces?
Details. They won't even be coming to your house to even check, unless you're selling it without paying your taxes.
How can I get a franchise to produce the cannabis for recreational use??
What a great country this is trying to become again.
Score one for freedom.
Strike one against fear mongers, ignorance, corruption and general bigotry.
I for one Think that this is a huge step for Americans. Honestly it frustrates me when pot smokers seem to curse out all the people who oppose MJ. let them oppose, that is their opinion and they are entitled to it. The only thing you are doing is making pot smokers look crazed and unable to have a real debate on this subject. honestly I think a lot of people were just misinformed on this plant. I for one have watched A LOT of documentaries on MJ. please forgive my spelling on this lol. cannabinoid receptors are found all through our bodies as well as a lot of animals. This is because our bodies produce cannabinoids naturally, they just deteriorate at a much faster rate then MJ's. It doesn't cure cancer that we can prove. we haven't done many studies because the federal gov. is the one who regulates who can revive this class 1 drug. this being said it does show more promise than most if not all current meds. there are cases where it has made drastic improvements including helping cancer recede. The federal gov. should at the very least respect the voters and let these two states be our test states for this issue. To this date our fed. gov. still gives medical marijuana to a very select few of patients. they grow it and mail it to them. They, under Fed. law cannot be prosecuted. yes the pharmaceutical industries don't want this to pass because as of now they are the biggest grossing industry in America, and yes they cannot patent a plant. It also used to be a law that all farmers had to grow MJ. in their crops for the use of hemp(one of the strongest fibers known to man). I think these states are doing everything exactly right! 21 years or older citizens should have the right to smoke if they choose. It is no worse than alcohol.. it may even be a safer alternative. I have never been blackout stoned, I have been blackout drunk a few times.. lol. it would make this harder for underage children to have access to this drug. How can I say that when it may be in the adults house? Well upon polls we have found that all peoples under the age of 21 say that the hardest thing to get their hands on is alcohol. why? because we can regulate this with ID's. Ive never met a drug dealer who asked for my ID. If you are opposed to marijuana being used relationally then all I ask is that you take a few moments and watch the documentaries that are not funded by our government. If you still oppose after that then by all means state your opinions! i have no problem with that and I will not curse you out or talk down on you. welcome to America. Ive served in the Army and thats what our armed forces fight for is our freedoms! stand up for what you believe in and keep an open mind. This in my opinion is a way for the U.S. to make an insane amount of new revenue which in turn can be used to move us out of depression or battle the more important issues/drugs. It will be a very long process but I do believe it is the right move. Even at the very least please grant the scientists permission to perform more testing rather than being shunned. Well I am done and again don't crucify me for my spelling and grammar. *******These are my opinions******* Do research and get educated my friends!!!!!!!!!
receive not revive* lol
recreationally not relationally... man I'm bad
As Obama would say...."Are You Fired UP" Colorado.........Burn Baby Burn........that Funky stuff........
Its kind of AWESOME......a WHOLE ounce......Oh my gosh.....thats a lot of DANK...ROFL!
All the kids will be going to COLLEGE in Colorado know......if the FEDS dont let this go......this will show NUFF be the Boston TEA Party..........ROFL....
Get this ERIC HOLDER..........called for a stand down on RAIDS over a year ago....and wanted to make room for ....The STATES to decide........they just left the FEDERAL LAW in place to ......Quell Mayhem and ORDER......but know this.....HIGH TIMES is coming to ........ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH for Christmas..........ROFL
oh.......I forgot......HO..HO...HO...Mother@!$%#ers.........lol
wow. I am one of the few people I know that has NEVER done drugs, but ya know after watching the sad decline of this country I just may move to Colorado!