Nearly half of the US has already legalized marijuana in some form, and before Election Day, four states allowed recreational use and sales.

On November 8, another four states voted in favor of outright marijuana legalization: California, Nevada, Maine, and Massachusetts all voted in favor of legalized use, sale, and consumption of recreational marijuana.

Marijuana at the Grass Station marijuana shop in Denver, Colorado. Rick Wilking/Reuters

Most significantly, California voted overwhelmingly in favor of legislation making marijuana legal, on Proposition 64 — thus making the entire West Coast a legal enclave for recreational cannabis.

But the story is bigger than vote tallies — by how much did these ballots pass? What happens next? When do these laws go into effect?

Here's everything we know: