Medical marijuana pulls it out

The Proposition 203 medical marijuana measure has snatched victory from the jaws of defeat and has been approved by Arizona voters.

The "Yes" side took a large majority of late votes, including provisional ballots in which voters might not have had identification on election day but came back to elections offices to validate their ballots.

The "Yes" votes for Prop. 203 stand at 4,341 votes ahead, according to the Arizona Secretary of State's office.

Late Friday, the "Yes" votes had taken the lead in the tight race to legalize medical marijuana. The "No" side had lead by as much as 7,000 vote throughout the lengthy vote tabulations that have dragged on well beyond Election Day. There were 841,436 votes in favor of the measure and 837,005 votes opposed.

The come-from-behind win is a victory for the Phoenix-based Riester public relations firm, which ran the "Yes on 203" campaign. It's loss for the Arizona Cardinals and its executives, who financed the opposition to the measure. Cards General Manager Rod Graves donated $2,500 to the "No" effort. The team chipped in another $10,000 and Cardinals President Michael Bidwill was part of opposition campaign along with long-time Valley businessman Jerry Colangelo.

Prop. 203 was the closest vote in Arizona's general election. The medical marijuana legalization comes even as conservative Republicans won most of the key races. The contest is so close that it likely will result in a recount.

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