UPDATE | Alaska voters OK recreational use of marijuana

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska has become the fourth state to legalize recreational marijuana, with voters narrowly approving a measure allowing pot use for people 21 and older.

Ballot Measure 2 passed by less than a 5 percent margin, results tallied today showed. Washington and Colorado already regulate recreational pot, and Oregon residents voted to legalize the drug Tuesday.

A national pro-pot group, the Marijuana Policy Project, was the major contributor behind the initiative, and its spending dwarfed that of the opposition.

The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, the group behind the initiative, argued marijuana prohibition has been "as ineffective, wasteful and problematic as alcohol prohibition."

Initiative supporters said legalization would allow law enforcement to focus on more serious drugs like heroin. They also said it would bring in new tax revenue.

But opponents worried about the impact on children from the mass marketing of pot, especially edible products.

The initiative will allow for possession of up to 1 ounce of marijuana and up to six plants — three flowering — for those who are at least 21. However, smoking in public would not be permitted.