One State May Be First to Decriminalize Hard Drugs

The march toward legal marijuana has a chance to move forward in four more states on Tuesday, while Oregon ponders a groundbreaking move on harder drugs. Details:

• Hard drugs: Oregon may become the first state to decriminalize hard drugs, reports the AP. Under the ballot measure, people caught with small amounts of heroin, cocaine, LSD, and other hard drugs would not face arrest or possible jail time. Instead, they could pay fines and opt for a treatment program, funded by sales of marijuana. (Oregon was one of the first to decriminalize pot.) Forecasters don't have a sense whether the measure will pass or fail.

• Marijuana: Four more states are voting on the legalization of recreational pot—Arizona, South Dakota, Montana, and New Jersey, reports CNN. South Dakota is of note because it could become the first state to "leapfrog"—simultaneously pass laws legalizing medical marijuana and recreational marijuana. Another state, Mississippi, will vote on legalizing medical marijuana.

(More marijuana stories.)