A man wearing a t-shirt with a marijuana leaf and a tattoo featuring a medicine symbol
A man wearing a t-shirt with a marijuana leaf and a tattoo featuring a medicine symbol attends the first cultivation of cannabis authorized for medicinal purposes in Chile, Santiago October 29, 2014. Reuters/Ivan Alvarado

Oregon became the third state in the United States to make marijuana legal. Voters green signalled for the drug to be used for recreational use.

The new law makes it legal to have marijuana in personal possession. It also legalises the manufacture and the sale of marijuana for those who are 21 or older. The new legal system in Oregon is going to create a commercial system to regulate the production, distribution and sale of the drug just like what are in Colorado and Washington State. Measure 91 was passed by Oregon voters to put an end to the prohibition against marijuana, Huffington Post reported. Alaska has similar laws for marijuana like those of Oregon. It is legal to produce, sell and use marijuana in Alaska for people who are more than 21.

Laws in Washington D.C. allow people, who are more than 21 years old, to possess marijuana up to two ounces for personal use. Washington people are allowed to grow up to six marijuana plans at home. The maximum limit for transferring it to another person is one ounce. However, people are not allowed to sell marijuana in Washington, CNN reported. The issue is, however, not completely resolved for the District of Columbia as it is not state but a district. Congress, on the other hand, has the authority to overrule Washington laws. According to some lawmakers, the popular vote in favour of the legalisation of marijuana may be overruled.

In the meantime, pro-marijuana activists considered it to be a major victory. Ethan Nadelmann said that the victory was sweeter because younger people, who apparently consisted of the majority of the supporters of marijuana, were less likely to cast their vote. "The pace of reform is accelerating, other states are sure to follow, and even Congress is poised to wake from its slumber," CNN quoted the executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. Marijuana Majority Chairman Tom Angell said that the legalisation of marijuana in Washington D.C. was a major step to federal recognition. He said that it would be "increasingly difficult for national politicians to continue ignoring the growing majority of voters" who wanted the ban to be lifted.

Florida voters, on the other hand, voted against the legalisation of marijuana.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au