The state of California may legalise recreational use of marijuana, as the California Secretary of State's office said the issue could be put up to vote in November.

Recreational use of marijuana is legal in most Western states in the US. The use of medical marijuana has been legal in California since 1996.

The proposed so-called "Adult Use of Marijuana Act," would allow people aged 21 and older to possess as much as an ounce of marijuana for private recreational use and permit personal cultivation of as many as six marijuana plants.

"Today marks a fresh start for California, as we prepare to replace the costly, harmful and ineffective system of prohibition with a safe, legal and responsible adult-use marijuana system that gets it right and completely pays for itself," initiative spokesman Jason Kinney said in a statement.

The measure would also establish a system to license, regulate and tax sales of marijuana, while allowing city governments to exercise local control over or disallow commercial distribution within their borders.

The initiative required just over 402,000 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot and exceeded that number on Tuesday, the Secretary of State's office said. Secretary Alex Padilla is slated to certify the initiative on June 30.

Cannabis remains classified as an illegal narcotic under US law.

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