Washington joined Colorado in voting to become the first states to legalize and tax the sale of marijuana for recreational use, but people shouldn't expect to be able to buy a bag of legitimate weed any time soon.
Nor should they expect the law to go into effect with out a fight with federal law agencies, said Sam Kamin, professor of law at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.
“My gut feeling is that the federal government won’t currently tolerate the commercial recreational sale of marijuana, that is they will not allow it to be regulated like alcohol. That just seems a bridge too far,” he said.
- New related story: Partners in crime? New state laws challenge fed’s marijuana stance
Same-sex marriage backers say they've won
Washington United for Marriage has declared victory in the same-sex marriage referendum.
“This is a clear win,” the group's campaign manager Zach Silk said in a press release.
“We have run the numbers every which way, and we can now confidently say that we have won. This is an historic day for Washington, an historic day for our country and, most of all, for families across the state who have dreamed of this day and the wedding celebrations to come.”
So far, official “Yes” votes have a slight advantage of 52 to 48 percent. Counties were expected to post additional vote results Wednesday afternoon.
However the group said in the press release:
With 60 percent of the vote counted, R74 already has the support of 65 percent of King County and is performing well in key Eastern Washington counties. Simply put, it’s now impossible for opponents to overcome the 52-48 percent spread for R74.
Video: KPLU videographer David Kellogg captured the hopes and tensions of election night as one same-sex couple waited for elections results:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCB4J6Lq7bI
In the ballroom, Dan Coles stood with his partner Steve Lelievre, both of them beaming, holding a sign that read: Dan and Steve, 27 years.
“And we are very hopeful R 74 will pass and we can get married. And I just phoned our son up in Bellingham and said, get ready for the wedding.”
New vote numbers do little to help McKenna
A fresh round of ballot tallies shows little change in Washington's race for governor.
Republican Rob McKenna said Wednesday that he believed late ballots would break in his direction. But after another day of counting, Democrat Jay Inslee still led McKenna by a margin of about 51 percent to 49 percent.
Inslee expressed confidence that his lead would hold and he began setting up a transition team that would help him prepare to take office in January. But the former congressman stopped short of declaring victory, acknowledging that the election's final result may not be known until the end of this week.
Election officials still have hundreds of thousands of votes left to count.
NPR: Obama re-elected
The euphoria of Barack Obama's supporters on election night four years ago was replaced Tuesday by relief, as the incumbent president won a second term over Republican Mitt Romney in an effort powered more by organization than by ideas.
To retain the White House, Obama managed to overcome the handicap of an economy just finding its footing after a devastating recession, and an unemployment rate higher than it's been under any president seeking re-election since Franklin Roosevelt during the Great Depression.
And in swing states that now serve as pickers of our presidents, Obama and his team orchestrated the larger national economic question into a conversation that focused almost solely on the important automobile industry there and his role in its revival.
CLICK to enter: Relive the night! Check out our live blog from election nigtht.
Here’s a list of some of the election stories we’ve produced (you can see them all at 2012 Elections):
Initiatives and referendums
- Marijuana Notes: If it passes, possession is legal on Dec. 6th
- Obama, Romney sugar cookies sell briskly
- Smartphone app available for Washington election results
- Marijuana and charter schools pulling ahead in latest poll
- If it’s legal: Five ways legal pot could affect your life
- Marijuana Notes: Wait a second … “2 grams per use”?
- Marijuana Notes: Strange new state job … cannabis quality control
- Charter school initiative: How easy would it be to 'flip' a school?
- Public education honchos gather in anti-charter schools camp
- Pierce County bus riders face dramatic cuts if sales tax hike fails
Competition for state offices
- Inslee vs. McKenna: Down to the wire on environmental issues
The race between current Attorney General Rob McKenna and former U.S. Congressman Jay Inslee for governor is going down to the wire. - One-on-one with Washington's candidates for governor
- Maria Cantwell vs. Michael Baumgartner for U.S. Senate
- Koster, DelBene vie for newly redrawn first Congressional district
- Both candidates for King County Sheriff pledge to reform department
- Candidates spar over role of Attorney General
