California voters rebuff marijuana legalization

SAN FRANCISCO – Warned of dangers and legal chaos, California voters Tuesday rejected a measure that would have made their state the first to legalize the use and sale of marijuana.

The spirited campaign over Proposition 19 had pitted the state’s political and law enforcement establishment against determined activists seeking to end the prohibition of pot.

It was by far the highest-profile of the 160 ballot measures being decided in 37 states. Other measures dealt with abortion, tax cuts and health care reform.

On a night of conservative advances in much of the country, Massachusetts voters spurned a chance to cut their taxes – rejecting a proposal to lower the state sales tax from 6.25 percent to 3 percent. Critics said the cut would have forced the state to slash $2.5 billion in services, including local aid to cities and towns.

In Oklahoma, voters overwhelmingly passed three measures that had dismayed some progressive and immigrant-rights groups. One makes English the state’s “common and unifying language,” another requires a government-issued photo ID in order to vote, and the third prohibits state courts from considering international law or Islamic law when deciding cases.

California’s marijuana proposal – titled the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act – would have allowed adults 21 and over to possess up to an ounce of pot, consume it in nonpublic places as long as no children were present, and grow it in small private plots.

Proposition 19 also would have authorized local governments to permit commercial pot cultivation, as well as the sale and use of marijuana at licensed establishments.

Even facing defeat, Prop 19 supporters said they were buoyed by a new Gallup poll showing that national support for legalizing marijuana has reached an all-time high of 46 percent.