The so-called Proposition 19 -- one of a series of referendums held at the same time as mid-term polls -- were rejected by 57 percent against 43 percent in favor, said CNN, while Fox News and the LA Times also forecast a No vote.

Growing and selling marijuana for medicinal purposes has been legal here since 1996, but backers of legalizing it totally -- including consumption, cultivation and trade -- campaigned hard for "Prop 19" to be passed.