By Matt Ferner Voters in several states on Tuesday dealt blows to the United States’ decades-long drug war, passing measures to legalize marijuana for recreational use, decriminalize possession of it and shorten the time nonviolent drug offenders spend behind bars.

Despite the changes, marijuana is still classified as a Schedule I substance by the federal government, along with heroin and LSD.

“Now that it’s been shown that putting marijuana legalization on the ballot can succeed even in midterms, we can expect to see a huge surge of additional states voting to end prohibition during the 2016 presidential election,” said Tom Angell, the chairman of Marijuana Majority. “And because the issue has been proven to be mainstream as far as voters are concerned, we may even see lawmakers in several states jumping ahead to legalize marijuana legislatively in the meantime.”

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Here’s what voters changed on Tuesday:

OREGON: Voters passed Measure 91, which legalizes the possession, use and sale of recreational marijuana for adults 21 and over. The measure makes Oregon the third state in the nation to end the prohibition of marijuana, joining Colorado and Washington state, which both legalized retail cannabis in 2012.

Under Measure 91, adults can have up to 8 ounces of marijuana at home and up to 1 ounce in public. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission will be charged with regulating and monitoring the industry. Taxes collected on sales of marijuana will go to fund schools, law enforcement, and drug prevention and education programs in the state.

“Our vote in Oregon, by the people, is a huge step forward for the rationalization of our failed drug policies,” Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) told The Huffington Post. “We’re going to celebrate the victory tonight and get to work on fixing federal policy in the morning.”

When Oregon’s new law is fully implemented, the state …read more

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