U.S. efforts to legalize recreational marijuana use saw mixed results on Tuesday, as voters in Michigan approved a measure legalizing the drug while North Dakotans looked set to block it.
Michigan became the 10th U.S. state to legalize recreational pot use, according to CNN and advocates. Its proposal also levies a 10 percent sales tax on pot sales.
North Dakota’s Measure 3, which would have made it legal for anyone over the age of 21 to use the drug, was losing by a margin of 60 percent to 40 percent with 357 out of 424 precincts reporting, according to the secretary of state’s website.
State laws allowing recreational use of marijuana have spread across the United States since Colorado voters approved one in 2012. Before Tuesday’s vote 20 of the 50 states allow it for medical use.
Marijuana remains illegal under U.S. federal law, which has presented roadblocks to businesses. Canada last month became the first industrialized country to legalize recreational cannabis.
“Marijuana has now been legalized for adult use in one out of every five states, so I think it’s safe to say federal laws are in need of an update,” said Matthew Schweich, deputy director of the Marijuana Policy Project advocacy group. [Read more at Reuters]
