California Voters Reject Proposition to Legalize Pot

Californians have rejected a ballot measure that would have legalized marijuana in the state.

Proposition 19 would have made it legal for adults of drinking age to possess up to 1 ounce of pot, as well as to grow and smoke the drug in private, and would have authorized local governments to tax its sale.

Billionaire George Soros hoped to boost the campaign a $1 million donation last week. But opponents said that the Prop 19 would stir up a hornet's nest of legal complications. Earlier this month, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder warned that the U.S. government would "vigorously enforce" federal drug laws even if the proposition passed.

While California, as well as some other states, already allow marijuana use for medical purposes, the proposition attracted widespread attention because it would have made the state the first to legalize pot for nonmedical, or recreational, purposes.