Supporters of legalizing recreational marijuana will try to win over California voters again next year, after the secretary of state's office on Monday cleared them to begin circulating ballot petitions.

An unprecedented marijuana-legalization measure in California trailed in early returns Tuesday after a spirited campaign that pitted the political and law enforcement establishment against well-funded activists seeking to end the prohibition of pot.

Federal officials haven't ruled out taking legal action if California voters approve a ballot initiative that would legalize recreational marijuana use in the state, President Barack Obama's drug czar said Wednesday.

It's the land of hippies, Humboldt County and Cheech and Chong. But in the state more closely associated with marijuana than any other, the ballot measure to legalize pot has exposed California's conflicted relationship with the drug.

When California voters head to the polls in November, they will decide whether the state will make history again - this time by legalizing the recreational use of marijuana for adults.

When California voters head to the polls in November, they will decide whether the state will make history again - this time by legalizing the recreational use of marijuana for adults.