Prosecutors Drop 220 Pot Cases in Washington State

Meet the 220 people happiest that Washington state voted to legalize small amounts of marijuana: the folks who faced criminal charges before Tuesday's vote but are now having those charges dismissed. Local authorities said yesterday they were dropping the 200-plus misdemeanor cases even though legalization doesn't take effect for another month, reports the Seattle Times.

"I think when the people voted to change the policy, they weren't focused on when the effective date of the new policy would be," says the top prosecutor in King County. "They spoke loudly and clearly that we should not treat small amounts of marijuana as an offense." (More Election 2012 stories.)