Recreational marijuana will be legal in Nevada come January 1 after voters handily approved Question 2 on Tuesday with roughly 54 percent of the vote.

Nevada joins a wave of states to approve recreational marijuana for adults, painting the West Coast green from Washington to California.

“They’re prepared to meet what this market is going to demand,” said Matthew Gardiner, the Vice President of Shango Las Vegas, which is a medical pot dispensary boasting 72,000 square feet on Boulder Highway and Twain.

The seed to sale shop is bracing for a potentially billion dollar boost to businesses in Nevada.

Leafbuyer.com will immediately begin working with partners in each state and will deploy a huge marketing nationwide. Additional markets will allow Leafbuyer to scale its operations and offer a larger selection of cannabis deals to more consumers.

“We are excited to expand our platform to new and growing markets across the country. We are now beyond the tipping point. Our success in Colorado can be attributed to a customer-centric focus and intense grass roots marketing,” said Cayla Shortley, Director of Sales.

Mentor Capital reports that, following the election, overnight, the population in states where recreational cannabis use is legal increased from 17.6 million to 67.5 million. California, Massachusetts, Maine and Nevada joined Colorado, Alaska, Oregon, Washington and the District of Columbia as new safe havens for cannabis use by adults when in compliance with their respective state laws. This rising tide was further buttressed by the approval of medical marijuana use in Florida, North Dakota and Arkansas with a combined population of 22.6 million. 29 states now allow recreational cannabis or medical marijuana use covering the majority of the US population.

Is Big Weed on the way? Now that California, Nevada, Maine and Massachusetts have legalized recreational marijuana, investors should expect the explosion of a major new industry which could have a major economic impact on America.

One main reason why the potential in recreational marijuana is so great is that, until Colorado and Washington legalized cannabis in 2012 (Oregon and Alaska legalized it later), there was no legitimate industry in the country to speak of. By virtue of being legalized — and in particularly in a state as large, and with as vibrant an agricultural sector, as California — the recreational marijuana industry has now created a solid foundation for itself and its own ground floor.

Nevadans voted Tuesday to legalize recreational marijuana for adults ages 21 and over. The passing of Question 2, by a margin of six points according to early polling results, allows for the legal purchase of up to 1 ounce of marijuana or up to one-eighth ounce of marijuana concentrates such as wax, carbon dioxide oil and shatter.

Under the law, recreational users will also be allowed to buy marijuana paraphernalia such as bongs and glass pipes. Those living outside a 25-mile radius of the closest Nevada marijuana dispensary will be permitted to cultivate up to six marijuana plants at home for personal use, as long as it’s away from public view.

The results of today's marijuana legalization ballot initiatives will set the stage for the next four years of American drug policy. If California and a number of other states legalize the recreational use of the drug, many observers, including President Obama, say that a strict federal pot prohibition could soon become untenable.

Never mind Clinton vs. Trump: Millions of Americans can expect to wake up Wednesday and indulge in a soothing palliative to take the edge off the results of a contentious presidential election.

On Tuesday, five states will decide whether to join Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Washington, DC, in legalizing marijuana for “adult recreational“ use.

Polling in California, Nevada, Arizona, Massachusetts and Maine shows that, while legalization is slightly favored by voters, the margins are very close.

Taken together, a successful outcome for these ballot measures could add $4.2 billion to legal marijuana retail revenues by 2018, on top of the $6.5 billion projected for the current year, according to Matt Karnes of GreenWave Advisors.

Legalizing the recreational use of marijuana is a big step, and it’s natural that some Nevada voters would be concerned about taking it.

But it’s a move that makes sense when marijuana is placed in the same context as alcohol.

Like marijuana, alcohol has been subject to a ban. But Prohibition didn’t work, so Americans undid it with the 21st Amendment in 1933 and began regulating alcohol again.

Eight decades later, the War on Drugs has been as ineffective at eradicating marijuana as Prohibition was for alcohol. Surveys and studies show that at least 30 million Americans use the drug, and the percentage of adults users has only grown in the last decade.

A good way to gauge where things stand in the marijuana legalization wars a week before Election Day is to follow the money. And the latest polls, of course.

There are limitations to this approach. Trying to predict the outcome of an election by polling a week or less before the voting ends is a lot like trying to predict how a road trip is going to end by looking out the back window of the car. Ditto with following the money. The financial disclosure reports published, say, 10 days before Election Day don’t tell you how much will be contributed and spent before the polls close.

That said, here’s how things stood about a week ago.

Five other states will vote on legalizing recreational marijuana on Nov. 8 and the impact on Colorado is yet to be seen.

The Colorado green rush is credited with bringing an influx of investment and people to the state. Supporters cite a $2.4 billion economic impact in 2015 but opponents point to concerns about crime and homelessness.

After several incidents downtown this summer, city leaders blamed what they called "urban travelers" -- people drawn to Colorado for legal weed. They even told dispensaries on the 16th Street Mall to avoid selling individual joints.

A homeless man who calls himself "L.A." told Denver 7 he moved here from Louisiana because of marijuana, as he said, "For the best weed ever."