A massive spending campaign by the fans of legalized marijuana in Alaska failed to convince voters.
With about 82 percent of precincts reporting Tuesday night, voters rejected by a crushing margin the notion that pot should be legal for adults 21 and older to possess, grow, buy or give away. Backers of Ballot Measure 2 spent huge sums making their case in print and broadcast media, vastly outspending foes.
The proposal, which would have allowed for state regulation and taxation of pot, did not appear to be doing better than a similar but more ambitious initiative in 2000. People on both sides of the issue this year thought, or worried, Measure 2 had a fighting chance because it asked less of voters than the one in 2000. Alaska voters leaving the polls Tuesday cited everything from the state?s substance abuse problems to fears about stoned drivers or sending a mixed message to kids as reasons why they voted against the measure.
David Finkelstein, treasurer of one of the main groups pushing for legalization, conceded defeat. He said the campaign had a lot of momentum until about mid October, when federal officials, including a deputy White House drug czar, visited the state with an anti-drug message.
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