Measure 33 would have increased the amount of marijuana qualifying patients could legally possess and establish state-regulated dispensaries for the drug.

With 65 percent of the votes counted, the measure was going down to defeat with 58 percent of voters rejecting it to 42 percent approving it.

"The failure of Measure 33 simply confirms my belief in the ability of Oregon's voters to spot a wolf in sheep's clothing," said Benton County District Attorney Scott Heiser. "Measure 33 was nothing more than an attempt to legalize recreational drug use under the guise of helping the suffering. Obviously, the DAs of Oregon are very pleased to see the voters soundly rejecting this disingenuous measure."

John Sajo, director of Voter Power, which sponsored Oregon's medical-marijuana law in 1998 and spearheaded the Measure 33 effort, said the initiative failed because of a lack of funds.

"We were trying to make some relatively big changes with a small budget," he said.

Sajo added, "Our opponents did a good job distorting what the measure would do, painting it as legalization, which it was not. Marijuana is medicine, and patients need to get it."

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