Voters in Washington have approved the legalisation of marijuana for recreational use, making it the first US state to decriminalise personal use of the popular, but illegal, drug.
The change, known as Initiative 502, was being approved by 55.5 percent to 44.5 percent with half of the ballots counted, according to news reports on the web.
When passed, it would allow people aged 21 years or older to buy up to one ounce (28 grammes) of marijuana from a licensed retailer.
Washington is one of six states with marijuana on its ballot paper. Voters in Colorado and Oregon were also weighing ballot measures to legalise recreational use of marijuana, also known as pot, ganja, weed and other names.
In Massachusetts, voters approved a measure to legalise marijuana for medical use, which is already allowed in 17 states and the District of Columbia. Montana and Arkansas voters were also weighing measures dealing with the medical use of marijuana.
The Washington state measure may generate as much as $1.9 billion in state revenue over five fiscal years, according to the state’s Office of Financial Management.
Federal prosecutors last year cracked down on the industry in states including California, where clinic landlords were threatened with jail time if they did not evict the shops. California was the first state to allow medical-marijuana use when voters approved a 1996 ballot measure.