Billed as the most consequential Election Day for the cannabis industry, now Nov. 6, 2018 can proudly wear another superlative: It was the industry’s greatest Election Day.

Consider:

But it was here in California where cannabis took the biggest step forward. Or perhaps it was 67 steps toward progress, as that’s the number of jurisdictions, out of 78, where voters made their pro-marijuana sentiments known via ballot measures supporting the industry in some form or another. It wasn’t a green sweep, but certainly close to it.

The voters saying yes to cannabis weren’t just the so-called coastal elites, either. Of the 25 California counties won by Trump in the 2016 presidential election, seven had marijuana on the ballot on Tuesday – and five gave the thumbs-up, with only Kern and Plumas counties declining. (It should be noted Plumas voters saved the county the headache of trying to ensure businesses aren’t playing accounting tricks, as the measure would have only taxed profits rather than gross receipts like literally all other jurisdictions.)

Also, the margins by which these measures passed are stunning. For example, look at San Luis Obispo County, where four cities asked citizens whether they want to levy taxes on the industry. Paso Robles’ ballot measure posted the lowest approval rate with “only” 68 percent of voters giving their OK. Meanwhile, both Atascadero and Morro Bay hit 73 percent approval, while San Luis Obispo reached an eye-popping 80 percent!

Considering voters in many jurisdictions also were choosing mayors, councilmembers, and supervisors, these elected officials would be fools to ignore how marijuana’s winning margins far outdid their own. If their eyes are on another term, better give the people what they want – and they want cannabis.

Of course, with the sheer numbers of jurisdictions and measures, in some places a deeper dive is needed to learn the whole story.

There is no way to look at the results and reach any opinion other than this is great news for cannabis. California’s market has been stuck in neutral for too long, as foot-dragging jurisdictions decided against allowing any commercial activity. But of the jurisdictions where marijuana was voted upon, voters in more than 85 percent of those cities and counties said, loudly, “YES” to cannabis.

What should happen over the next months are elected officials in these places finally allowing these businesses to open their doors. Of course, that can’t take place until the bureaucracies render judgments on what can be allowed to open and where, and how prospective owners must apply for these licenses. This will not be a short process, and it’s a fair estimate that few localities will have anything operating until deep into 2019.

But delayed is not denied. And no longer can California’s cities and counties cross their fingers and hope no one notices they’re slow-walking, if not stymieing entirely, the will of voters who approved adult-use recreational two years ago. Rather, now they’ll have to answer to an electorate who just made clear that they meant what they said in passing Proposition 64.

It’s taken a long time, too long, but finally the California market is about to open. And that’s why Election Day 2018 will be forever remembered as when the potential became kinetic – because Californians from Oregon to Mexico announced to all it was time to move forward.