The D.C. Board of Elections approved ballot language Tuesday for a proposed initiative to legalize marijuana.

Initiative 71 seeks to legalize possession of 2 ounces of marijuana by adults 21 and older. It would allow people to cultivate six plants at home – three of which may be mature and flowering – and has provisions for the noncommercial transfer of marijuana.

During a sparsely attended meeting Tuesday, board members unanimously approved the initiative’s short title and ballot summary statement. The board decided March 10 the initiative itself was permissible.

“This is fine, this is perfect,” D.C. Cannabis Campaign organizer Adam Eidinger said after reviewing the board’s draft wording.

Board member Stephen Danzansky recommended three minor changes, including a clarification that the initiative only addresses D.C. law. They were adopted without opposition.

The initiative's backers still face a few hurdles before scoring a spot on November ballots.

The finalized ballot language will be published in the D.C. Register on Friday, and then there’s a 10-day challenge period during which any D.C. registered voter can file a lawsuit in D.C. Superior Court objecting to the board’s decision.

If there’s no legal challenge, the board will meet again to approve language for initiative petitions, which is expected to be nearly identical to the ballot wording.

“Then the clock starts” for petitioning, Eidinger tells U.S. News. He says he’s confident campaigners will be able to net the required 25,000 valid signatures by July 7, when petition forms are due.

Eidinger expects to have around 80 days to collect signatures – fewer than the 180 days that are allowed.

Polls suggest city residents favor legalizing marijuana by a wide margin. A Washington Post poll released Jan. 15 found 63 percent support for legalizing the drug for personal use. An April 2013 poll conducted by Public Policy Polling found 63 percent support for regulating pot like alcohol.

D.C. ballot measures cannot appropriate city funds, so the initiative does not authorize a regulated recreational marijuana industry. The city council is charged with implementing the spirit of the initiative if it’s approved by voters.

Congress has the power to block legislation in D.C. and did so for years after city voters approved medical marijuana in 1998 (the city's first medical marijuana facilities opened in July 2013).

But in what may be a positive sign for legalization advocates, the D.C. Council approved one of the nation’s most liberal decriminalization bills March 4 – it would reduce the penalty for possession of 1 ounce of marijuana to a $25 fine – and there’s no sign of a mounting congressional challenge.

Councilman David Grosso, an independent, introduced a legalization bill to the D.C. Council in September, saying it was a logical next step.

"There's going to be an increase in demand with decriminalization, but there isn't going to be anywhere safe for people to go purchase marijuana," Grosso told U.S. News. "They're still going to be on the street corners, we're still going to have problems with violence on the street, with people getting arrested for nonviolent offenses."

Councilwoman Muriel Bowser, a Democratic mayoral candidate, endorsed marijuana legalization in a Friday tweet. Councilman Tommy Wells, the decriminalization bill’s author, is also seeking the Democratic mayoral nomination and has lined up endorsements from many pot reformers.

Colorado and Washington are the only U.S. jurisdictions that allow nonmedical marijuana use by adults over age 21. Recreational marijuana stores opened Jan. 1 in Colorado and state-licensed stores will open in Washington later this year.

D.C.’s steps toward legalizing pot are part of a nationwide trend. The New Hampshire House of Representatives voted Jan. 15 to legalize and regulate marijuana, but the bill is unlikely to become law this year. Alaska residents will vote on legalization Aug. 19, possibly followed by residents of Arizona, California and Oregon in November. Seventeen states have removed or reduced penalties for nonmedical marijuana possession.

Mason Tvert, communications director of the Marijuana Policy Project – one of the largest pro-legalization advocacy groups – tells U.S. News the organization has no immediate plans to get involved with the D.C. initiative.

“MPP is committed to continuing to work with the D.C. Council to adopt a bill to tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol in the District, but we do not have plans to support the initiative effort at this point in time,” Tvert says.