Massachusetts became one of the latest states to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, with a ballot measure winning out by a slight margin in Tuesday's election. Marijuana, previously legal only for medicinal use in the state, will now be legalized statewide starting Dec. 15.

The legalization measure, Ballot Question 4, was approved with 53.6 percent of the vote as of approximately 4 a.m., according to the Boston Globe. The question proposed legalization for individuals at least 21 years of age, with regulations similar to those for alcoholic beverages. The measure also included stipulations for the new Cannabis Control Commission, which will regulate marijuana use in the state.

While the measure found opposition from leading Massachusetts political figures like Governor Charlie Baker and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, it saw big support from groups like the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts chapter of the National Lawyers Guild.

“Prohibition has failed to keep marijuana out of our community. It has failed to keep marijuana out of the hands of our young people. And it has cost law enforcement and society millions and millions of dollars to enforce,” said Jim Borghesani, a spokesman for the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, in an Oct. 5 Boston.com article. “We need to end prohibition and replace it with a taxed and regulated system and finally control marijuana in Massachusetts,” he added.

Common arguments in favor of legalization also included that it will raise state tax revenue and ensure that users are receiving a safer, regulated product.

Opponents, on the other hand, argued that legalization will put the state’s efforts to combat its ongoing opioid epidemic at risk, in addition to increasing the possibility of drug-related health crises.

“Here in Massachusetts, we face the possibility that any new revenue would be vastly insufficient to cover the cost of ambulance rides, emergency room visits, and treatment. ... And these are just the hard costs; they don’t include the suffering of the injured and their families,” Baker, Walsh and state Attorney General Maura Healey wrote in a joint March 4 Boston Globe op-ed.

Also on the ballot on Tuesday was Massachusetts Ballot Question 1, which proposed allowing the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to issue an additional slots-only license. The measure was voted down with by 60.9 percent of the vote, according to the Globe.

Similarly, voters decided against Question 2, which would have authorized the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to approve up to 12 new charter schools or enrollment expansions for existing charter schools per year. In the end, 62.1 percent of Massachusetts voters decided against the measure, according to the Globe.

The charter school measure had received support from Baker and a number of community activists, but the opposition included a large array of school committees, labor unions and political organizations for people of color, such as the NAACP and the Black Political Task Force.

On the other hand, Massachusetts voters turned out overwhelmingly in favor of Question 3, which prohibits certain methods of farm animal containment that restrict animals’ movement. A number of animal rights organizations faced off against agricultural groups in the weeks leading up to the vote, with voters ultimately turning out 77.7 percent in favor of the new restrictions, according to the Globe.

Under Massachusetts state law, citizens can propose laws and constitutional amendments for approval by the electorate, according to the website for the Attorney General of Massachusetts. To get an initiative on the ballot, citizens must get the measure certified by the attorney general, collect a certain number of voter signatures — this year it was 64,750 — and file them with local election officials and the secretary of state. Then, if enough signatures are gathered, the measure is sent to the state legislature to be approved for the next biennial state election.

According to mass.gov, certain matters are excluded from making it onto the ballot, including measures that relate to religion; judges and courts; singular towns, cities or districts; and appropriations of state treasury funds, among various other subtopics. Measures are also excluded under state law if they are inconsistent with rights granted under the Massachusetts state constitution.