STOMPED OUT

Credit: Noah Berger/AP

Prop. 19 Couldn't Light A Fire With California Voters

By Elizabeth C.

POOF, AND JUST LIKE THAT, CALIFORNIA'S PROPOSITION 19 GOES UP IN SMOKE.

You'll be hearing that cliche a lot today. The proposal to make recreational use of marijuana legal in California faltered, with more than half of voters rejecting the bid.

Proponents had argued that legalizing weed would generate jobs and income for the state as well as undermine illegal drug trade.

But more than half the state's voters rejected the proposal and the under-25 crowd which supported the measure failed to show up en masse at voting booths. San Francisco voters only narrowly supported the measure; voters in LA rejected the measure.

"We're going to keep fighting," said Richard Lee, the "medical marijuana entrepreneur" who led the initiative.

Stephen Gutwillig, California director for the Drug Policy Alliance, called the ballot measure "a watershed moment."

"Even in defeat, Proposition 19 has moved marijuana legalization into the mainstream of American politics," Gutwillig said.