ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- A store in Alaska is set to be the first in the state offering retail marijuana sales, with the grand opening scheduled for Saturday at what the operators are calling "high noon."

DENVER — Nearly 60 million Americans may wake up Nov. 9 to find voters in their states have abolished long-standing marijuana prohibitions, a three-fold expansion for legal cannabis across the country.

In a surprising move, the Boston Globe has endorsed the Massachusetts cannabis legalization initiative, Question 4.

Election Day ballot initiatives to legalize marijuana in Massachusetts and Maine could light a fire under Vermont lawmakers.

Nearly 20 percent of states will make a decision about marijuana policy on Election Day.

Taken together, this year's marijuana surveys suggest that Americans have grown even more bullish on the prospect of legal weed than they were in 2014.

SAN FRANCISCO — To the red-and-blue map of American politics, it may be time to add green. The movement to legalize marijuana, the country’s most popular illicit drug, will take a giant leap on Election Day if California and four other states vote to allow recreational cannabis, as polls suggest they may.

If passed, Measure 5 would allow people to possess up to 3 ounces of medical marijuana for treatment of up to nearly a dozen medical conditions.

TRENTON — Legalized marijuana could be "a game-changer" for New Jersey's economy, Senate President Stephen Sweeney said Thursday, declaring his intent to help change the law as soon as the next governor takes office in 2018.