1103cannabisCalifornians rejected a ballot measure Tuesday that would have made their state the first to legalize marijuana for recreational use.

The spirited campaign over Proposition 19 pitted the state’s political and law enforcement establishment against determined activists seeking to end the prohibition of pot.

It was by far the highest-profile of the 160 ballot measures being decided in 37 states. Other topics included abortion, tax cuts, and healthcare reform.

In Oklahoma and Arizona, voters approved proposed amendments aimed at nullifying the segment of the new federal healthcare law requiring people to have health insurance. A similar amendment was rejected in Colorado.

Colorado voters also defeated a pro-life “personhood” amendment—similar to one rejected in 2008—that would have given unborn babies human rights in the state constitution.

California’s marijuana proposal would have allowed adults 21 and over to possess up to an ounce of pot, consume it in nonpublic places as long as no children were present, and grow it in small private plots. It would have authorized local governments to permit commercial pot cultivation, as well as the sale and use of marijuana at licensed establishments.

Proponents pitched it as a sensible, though unprecedented, experiment that would provide much-needed revenue for the cash-strapped state, dent the drug-related violence in Mexico by causing pot prices to plummet, and reduce marijuana arrests that they say disproportionately target minority youth.

But every major newspaper, both political parties, the two candidates for governor, and all but a handful of leading politicians came out against it.

White House drug czar Gil Kerlikowske said that legalizing marijuana wouldn’t solve any problems, but instead would lead to more addiction, driving accidents, and emergency room admissions.

Federal officials also said they would have continued enforcing laws against marijuana possession and sales had the measure passed.

Prop 19 supporters blamed the outcome on the older, more conservative leanings of voters who participate in midterm elections and pledged to try again in two years.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

See WORLD’s interactive national map for complete election results from across the country.