California voters reject legal marijuana

SAN FRANCISCO - Warned of dangers and legal chaos, California voters Tuesday rejected a measure that would have made their state the first to legalize the use and sale of marijuana.

The spirited campaign over Proposition 19 had pitted the state's political and law enforcement establishment against determined activists seeking to end the prohibition of pot.

The proposal would have allowed adults 21 and over to possess up to an ounce of pot, consume it in nonpublic places as long as no children were present, and grow it in small private plots. It also would have authorized local governments to permit commercial pot cultivation.

- AP