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Marijuana Legalization Measures Pass in Oregon, Alaska and DC, but Medical Falls Short in Florida

Marijuana Legalization Measures Pass in Oregon and DC, but Medical Falls Short in FloridaVoters in Oregon, Alaska and Washington, DC, approved the recreational use of marijuana, while Florida voters rejected an amendment to their state constitution that would have legalized the use of medical marijuana.  Alaska is still pending, but looking promising.

With a 54 to 45 percent lead, voters in Oregon have voted in America’s third legal marijuana market.

The measure legalizes recreational marijuana for people ages 21 and older, allowing adults over this age to possess up to eight ounces of “dried” marijuana and up to four plants. Additionally, the measure tasks the Oregon Liquor Control Commission with regulating sales.

In the nation’s capital, the measure — known was District Initiative 71 — allows residents to grow six or fewer marijuana plants in their homes and possess up to 2 ounces of the drug for their own use.

Support for the measure in DC registered at 65 percent in favor (20,727 votes) to 29.5 percent against, according to NPR. Medical marijuana was already legal in DC.

Alaska — is also became the fourth state in the U.S. to legalize recreational cannabis use.

In the first rounds of vote counting in Alaska the percentages were yeilding about:  52.8 percent “yes” to 47.1 percent “no” in favor of legalization.

In Florida, the ballot measure actually gained the support of the majority of Floridians who went to the polls despite its defeat. Roughly 57 percent voted in favor of permitting the use of medical pot, according to the Washington Post, but state laws required it to reach at least a support threshold of 60 percent since it was proposed as a constitutional amendment.

Known as Amendment 2, the measure would have permitted patients to use marijuana to treat “debilitating medical conditions” such as cancer, glaucoma, hepatitis C, AIDS, HIV, multiple sclerosis, and more. Additionally, it would have sanctioned pot use for “other conditions for which a physician believes that the medical use of marijuana would likely outweigh the potential health risks for a patient.”

Currently, 24 states have legalized medical, or recreational, marijuana.

(Marijuana Legalization Measures Pass in Oregon, Alaska and DC, but Medical Falls Short in Florida  |  WF News)

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