Voters in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington approve medical marijuana on Election Day 1998

On November 3, 1998, voters across the Pacific Northwest and Alaska proved that California’s 1996 medical cannabis vote was not an isolated event. Ballot initiatives legalizing medical marijuana passed decisively in Alaska (Measure 8), Oregon (Measure 67), and Washington (Initiative 692), while voters in Nevada and Washington, D.C. also backed medical cannabis at the ballot box.

The November 3, 1998 ballot results

• Alaska Measure 8: Approved with 58.67% Yes (131,586 to 92,701), establishing a confidential state registry for patients with debilitating medical conditions.
• Oregon Measure 67: Approved with 54.61% Yes (611,190 to 508,043), creating the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program (OMMP) and allowing registered patients or caregivers to grow and possess medical cannabis.
• Washington Initiative 692: Approved with 58.97% Yes (1,099,228 to 764,744), permitting physicians to authorize medical cannabis for terminal or debilitating conditions including cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, and intractable pain.

Nevada’s two-vote rule and Congress’s block in D.C.

Two other jurisdictions voted Yes on the same day under special rules:

• Nevada Question 9: Passed with 58.7% Yes in 1998. Because it amended the Nevada Constitution, state law required voters to approve it a second time in November 2000 (where it passed again with 65.4% Yes).
• Washington, D.C. Initiative 59: Approved by 69% of District voters, though Congress initially used a federal budget rider—the Barr Amendment—to block the city fromcounting the votes and later from implementing the medical program until 2009.
• Maine (1999): One year later, on November 2, 1999, Maine voters approved Question 2 (61.5% Yes), making Maine the first East Coast state to legalize medical cannabis.