Results from the votes on Tuesday came in favor of legalizing marijuana in Oregon, DC, and Alaska. Colorado and Washington legalized recreational marijuana in 2012. It is currently legal to use marijuana for medical purposes in 19 states, including California and New York.
In Oregon, individuals over age 21 are now allowed to possess up to eight ounces of marijuana and grow up to four plants of cannabis. In Alaska, up to one ounce of possession and growing up to six plants have been legalized. Both states either already have taxing systems in place or are strategizing ways to tax the commercial use of marijuana.
Specifics on how this new law will be regulated in Oregon is also still being discussed, according to Rob Patridge, the chairman of the Oregon Liquor Control Commission.
"My goal is to take the commission across Oregon to create transparency and listen to what Oregonians have to say about how to make this measure work Oregon's way," he told the Oregonian.
In Washington, D.C., the law that was just voted in allows individuals over 21 to possess a maximum of two ounces of marijuana, grow up to six cannabis plants, and give a maximum of one ounce to another individual. However, people are not allowed to sell marijuana, and even the fate of the existing law is uncertain, as they may be overruled by Congress. As a district and not a state, Congress wields power to overrule the vote in D.C. for up to 30 days.
Supporters of recreational marijuana are expecting that this will start a shift in the tide in terms of how states view the drug, and predict that California, among other states in which medical marijuana use is currently legal, will also legalize recreational use in 2016.
