Legal Pot in Colorado, Washington Won With $7.7 Million

Campaigns to legalize marijuana for recreational use in Colorado and Washington were well-financed and gave states regulatory and taxing power over it, both changes from a failed attempt in California two years earlier.

The first successful U.S. measures grew out of California’s Proposition 19 in 2010, which attracted donations of $4 million, according to campaign finance records. By contrast, the two states, which combined have one-third California’s population, raised at least $7.7 million.