Calif., Mass. okay recreational pot; executions back in Nebraska

California and Massachusetts vote to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, giving a huge boost to the campaign to allow pot nationwide. Seven more states also vote on marijuana measures, while others vote on gun control and capital punishment.

In Nebraska, voters reinstate the death penalty, reversing the Legislature’s decision last year to repeal capital punishment. Nebraska has not executed an inmate since 1997; 10 men currently sit on death row.

Colorado voters approved a measure that will allow physicians to assist a terminally ill person in dying. That’s already a practice in five other states. Coloradans defeat a proposal that would have set up the nation’s first universal health care system.

Five states, including Arizona, Maine and Nevada, considered whether to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. The results were hailed as historic by legalization activists, given that California is the most populous state. Massachusetts is the first state east of the Rockies to join the movement.

Voters in Florida and North Dakota approve measures allowing marijuana use for medical purposes. Voters in Arkansas are considering a similar proposal. Montanans vote on whether to ease restrictions on an existing medical marijuana law.

— AP