BOSTON (AP) — Voters in Massachusetts and Maine are deciding whether to make one or both New England states the first on the East Coast to legalize recreational marijuana for adults.
The results of the Tuesday ballot questions — and similar votes being taken in California, Arizona and Nevada — could represent a key turning point in the legalization movement nationwide. Recreational marijuana is currently allowed in four western states: Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska. The drug remains illegal under federal law.
Both Massachusetts and Maine previously voted to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana and to authorize medical marijuana programs.
The Massachusetts law would allow for a tax of up to 12 percent on retail sales of marijuana while the tax in Maine would be 10 percent.
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