California, Massachusetts, Nevada and Maine voted to legalize recreational marijuana, while Arizona was the lone state of the five with legal weed on its ballot to reject its measure. The results of the four statewide marijuana initiatives on the ballot Tuesday, especially in massive California, made for a landmark moment in efforts to legalize the recreational drug and push toward a repeal of federal cannabis prohibition.
The United States now has eight states, plus the District of Columbia, where recreational marijuana is now legal.
In Denver, where recreational marijuana use is already legal, voters passed a measure that allows social marijuana use at some businesses. The measure — which calls for a four-year pilot program – allows businesses, from bars to cafes and even yoga studios, to seek city-issued permits to create “consumption areas.”
Four other states — Arkansas, Florida, Montana and North Dakota — passed ballot measures Tuesday night legalizing medical marijuana. Medical marijuana is now legal in 28 states, plus D.C.