OLYMPIA (AP) — A measure to legalize the recreational use of marijuana is likely to be on the November ballot, after the secretary of the state’s office certified the initiative Friday, saying the campaign had turned in enough valid petition signatures.Initiative 502 now goes to the Legislature, but lawmakers are not likely to take up the issue during the short 60-day session that ends on March 8, meaning it would automatically appear on the ballot in the fall election.

“It’s time to for a new approach to marijuana policy in Washington state,” Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes said in a written statement released by New Approach, the legalization campaign. “Passing this measure will free up law enforcement resources, allowing police and prosecutors to focus on violent criminals instead of low-level marijuana offenders.”

David Ammons, a spokesman for Secretary of State Sam Reed, said a random 3 percent sampling of the nearly 355,000 petition signatures turned in last month indicated sponsors had nearly 278,000 valid signatures, more than the 241,153 necessary to qualify.

The measure was provisionally certified to the Legislature last week, while the signature check was still under way, so the state House and Senate could assign the measure to committees for further action. So far, neither the House nor Senate has scheduled any hearings.

Ammons said the Legislature has several options. It can pass the measure as submitted; reject it and let it go to the ballot this fall; ignore it and let it go to the ballot; or let it go to the ballot along with a legislative alternative.