The advocates believed they also have another win, too, in Alaska, as a legal pot measure held a steady
lead.

The only major loss for drug-law reformers came in Florida and even there, a medical marijuana proposal
earned 58 percent — just shy of the 60 percent required to pass.

The victories came in a midterm election that saw a low turnout and an electorate that handed Republicans
back control of the U.S. Senate for the first time since 2006. The results emboldened marijuana
activists as they prepare legalization efforts in California, Massachusetts, Maine and other states in
the next presidential election year.

"We’re starting work right now for 2016," said Joe Brezny, who’s leading a campaign to legalize
marijuana in Nevada. "The other side is in trouble if we’re doing this well in a Republican midterm
year."

Legalization opponent Kevin Sabet called the votes "a bit of a wake-up call before 2016,"
noting that drug policy groups had spent millions on the legalization campaigns, vastly outspending
opponents.

"This is going to make our side redouble our efforts to find donors who can put forth real
money," said the president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, adding that if they can get the
resources to get their message out, voters could make informed decisions.

Sabet pointed to the result in Florida as well as votes in five Colorado cities banning marijuana
dispensaries in saying, "I think we’ve slowed the legal marijuana freight train."

The measures were among many that appeared on ballots, with voters approving ones to raise the minimum
wage in four states, passing expanded gun background checks in Washington state and rejecting
abortion-related measures in two states.

In California, drug war opponents welcomed a vote that reduces penalties, from felonies to misdemeanors,
on possession of small amounts of drugs — including cocaine and heroin.

The pot votes, however, were considered by many to be the first real test of marijuana reform’s
popularity since Washington state and Colorado passed the nation’s first legal pot laws in 2012, boosted
then by the higher turnout among young people typical of presidential election years.

Tuesday’s vote saw voters in the District of Columbia make it legal to possess up to two ounces of pot
and up to three mature marijuana plants for personal use, but it does not provide for the legal sale of
marijuana. That’s left up to the D.C. Council.

The measures in Oregon and Alaska would follow Colorado and Washington state in setting up regulation and
taxation systems.

"It was an extraordinary day for marijuana and criminal justice reform, and all the more remarkable
on a night the Democrats were getting beat up so bad," said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of
the Drug Policy Alliance, a major legalization backer.

Some voters in Alaska said marijuana was essentially legal in the state anyway, thanks to a 1975 state
Supreme Court decision that possession of small amounts in the home is protected by citizens’ right to
privacy.

"It’s just a waste of cop time and court time and it’s pretty much harmless, as far as I’m
concerned. We’ll break even on making money on taxes on it," voter Scott Jenks said.

Gayle Boyer, who said people shouldn’t be arrested for using marijuana, voted against the measure, saying
there were too many unanswered questions about legalization — and the experiments going on in Colorado
and Washington state.

"We need to let them be the guinea pigs," she said.

Advocates, opponents and the U.S. government have closely watched Washington and Colorado to gauge the
impact on the black market, drug use among teens and impaired driving, among other areas.

In both states, adults over 21 can purchase marijuana, including potent extracts and edibles, at
state-licensed dispensaries.

Colorado allowed sales to begin at the start of the year, by letting its already-licensed medical
dispensaries begin selling for recreational use. There have been some concerns over the strength of
edibles sold, prompting plans for new rules there.

In Washington, where there is no regulated medical industry, legal marijuana’s rollout has gone more
slowly.

Colorado is on track to bring in about $84 million this year from medical and recreational pot taxes and
fees. In Washington, where recreational pot sales began in July, the tax collections have totaled more
than $7 million.

Here are how some other ballot measured fared on Tuesday:

MINIMUM WAGE

Voters in four states approved increases in the state minimum wage. In Arkansas, it will rise from $6.25
an hour to $8.50 by 2017, in Nebraska from $7.25 to $9 and in South Dakota from $7.25 to $8.50. In
Alaska, it will increase $2 an hour to $9.75 in 2016.

GUN SALES

In Washington state, voters approved a measure to expand background checks on gun sales and transfers;
the checks will extended to private transactions and many loans and gifts. The rival measure would have
prevented the state from expanding checks in that fashion; it was trailing statewide.

FOOD FIGHT

Colorado voters rejected a measure that would have required labeling of certain genetically modified
foods. The proposal would have applied to raw and packaged foods produced entirely or partially by
genetic engineering, but not apply to food served in restaurants. A similar measure was too close to
call in Oregon.

In Hawaii, voters in Maui County opted to temporarily ban the cultivation of genetically engineered crops
after a campaign featuring $8 million in advertising from some of the world’s largest corn-seed
producers.

SUGARY DRINKS

Voters in Berkeley, California, became the first in the country to pass a tax on sodas and other sugary
drinks. High-dollar advertising campaigns by the $76 billion U.S. soft-drink industry had defeated the
proposal in more than 30 other cities and states in recent years, including San Francisco where voters
on Tuesday rejected a soda tax.

___

David Crary in New York; Nigel Duara in Portland, Oregon; Rachel D’Oro in Anchorage, Alaska; and Ben
Nuckols in Washington contributed to this report.