Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012

DENVER (AP) -- First came marijuana as medicine. Now comes legal pot for the people.

Colorado and Washington have become the first states to allow pot for recreational use.

Those who have argued for decades that legalizing and taxing weed would be better than a costly, failed U.S. drug war now have their chance to prove it.

While the measures earned support from broad swaths of the electorate in both states on Tuesday, they are likely to face resistance from federal drug warriors.

As of Wednesday, authorities did not say whether they would challenge the new laws.

As the initial celebration dies down and the process to implement the laws progresses over the next year, other states and countries will be watching to see how the measures work.

(Copyright 2012, The Associated Press)