World & Nation

Photos: The marijuana legalization movement

A long line of buyers trails from a store selling marijuana in Pueblo West, Colo., on Jan. 1 as the nation's first recreational pot industry opened its doors.

A long line of buyers trails from a store selling marijuana in Pueblo West, Colo., on Jan. 1 as the nation’s first recreational pot industry opened its doors.  (John Wark / Associated Press)

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For marijuana advocates, 2014 may prove to be a banner year. The year opened with the nation’s first legal sales of the drug for recreational purposes in Colorado, continued with the proposed legalization of medical marijuana in New York and could end with the passage of pro-pot ballot initiatives in several states.
Read more: As marijuana attitudes shift, this may be a year of legalization.

Colorado's first legal recreational purchase

Sean Azzariti, a veteran of the Iraq war, prepares to make the first legal recreational marijuana purchase in Colorado from advocate Betty Aldworth at the 3-D Denver Discrete Dispensary in Denver.  (Theo Stroomer / Getty Images)

Medicine Man

Employees David Marlow, right, and Chris Broussard work the sales counter inside Medicine Man marijuana retail store, which opened as a legal recreational retail outlet in Denver at the beginning of 2014.  (Brennan Linsley / Associated Press)

Breckenridge Cannabis Club

A line forms outside the Cannabis Club on Main Street in downtown Breckenridge, Colo., for an 8 a.m. opening of the store.  (Kathryn Scott Osler / Associated Press)

Medical marijauna for children

Jeff Decker and his wife, Carly Tangney-Decker, hold their 8-month daughter, Mabel Tangney-Decker, in their home in Kingston, N.Y. The couple is pushing for the state of New York to legalize medical marijuana to help Mabel, who has a rare genetic disorder that causes seizures.  (Philip Kamrass / Associated Press)

Pot plant preparation

Employees trim pot plants to be sold at Medicine Man marijuana dispensary in Denver.  (Brennan Linsley / Associated Press)

Medicial marijuana in Chicago

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn hands a pen to state Rep. Lou Lang as he signs a bill legalizing medical marijuana in Chicago.  (Scott Eisen / Associated Press)

Alaska marijuana

Katrin Haugh, left, and Carol Thompson, of the Absentee and Petition Office begin processing 20 boxes containing more than 46,000 signatures for a proposed ballot initiative to legalize recreational use of marijuana in Alaska.  (Erik Hill / Associated Press)

Pro-pot councilman

Then City Council member Bill Rosendahl tours the premises of Herbal Cure Medicinal Collective, of which he is a member, in L.A.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Cannabis Station in Denver

A car passes by the Cannabis Station, a marijuana dispensary in downtown Denver.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

L.A. dispensary

A man enters a medical marijuana dispensary in Los Angeles.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Yes We Cannabis

Volunteer Gregory Lyons of Oakland makes calls at Oaksterdam University in support of Prop. 19, a marijuana legalization initiative.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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