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Two of the most populous states in the U.S. just voted to make weed legal, and two appear to be on the precipice of doing the same.

With just 19.2 percent of votes counted, Politico has projected that California’s proposition 64, which legalizes and taxes marijuana for use by the general public above the age of 21, will become the law of the land, with 56 percent of voters in favor of the measure.

As the sixth largest economy in the world in terms of gross domestic product, California is expected to bring in as much as $1 billion per year in additional tax revenue to be reinvested in public infrastructure. Fortune magazine reported that by 2020, California’s revenue from medical and recreational marijuana sales could top $6.5 billion each year.

The San Jose Mercury News reported that the new tax revenue would be put towards drug use prevention and treatment, helping disadvantaged youth, and other programs that would address the state’s opioid addiction crisis.

In addition to California, several other states legalized marijuana for recreational use. A ballot initiative in Massachusetts was successful, with Question 4 winning by a 53-46 margin. Maine’s Question 1, which also legalizes and taxes marijuana for recreational use, is currently leaning toward passage with 11,000 more voting “yes” than those voting “no,” with over 60 percent of votes tallied as of this writing. And as of 12:30 AM Eastern, Nevada’s ballot initiative on legalization is leaning toward passage, with “yes” winning by 7 percent with roughly one-third of all votes counted.

Arizona also had marijuana legalization on the ballot, but the measure appears to have failed, with “no” winning by a 5-point margin and over two-thirds of votes counted.



UPDATE: (1:01 AM Eastern) Nevada’s ballot initiative legalizing marijuana has passed, making it the third state to do so, according to the Daily Beast.

http://usuncut.com/politics/californ...zed-marijuana/

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