Former Rep. Tom Tancredo loses bet, will smoke pot

{mosads}Despite the bet, Tancredo said he was a supporter of the referendum, believing that government enforcement of anti-marijuana laws was “wasteful and ineffective.”

“I am endorsing Amendment 64 not despite my conservative beliefs, but because of them,” he wrote in an op-ed before the vote. “Our nation is spending tens of billions of dollars annually in an attempt to prohibit adults from using a substance objectively less harmful than alcohol.”

Washington state also voted in last year’s election to legalize small amounts of marijuana for personal use. On Tuesday, Attorney General Eric Holder met with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) to discuss how the state could move forward with rules regulating the possession and sale of the drug, which remains illegal under federal law.

A poll released by ABC News and The Washington Post shortly after the election in November found a record 48 percent of Americans support legalizing small amounts of marijuana for personal use.