A citizens' group in Alaska is one step closer to legalizing marijuana for recreational marijuana use in the state, Reuters reported.

The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana announced they had submitted on Wednesday a petition to election officials with more than 45,000 signatures in support of their cause. If 30,000 of those signatures are "qualified" and come from at least 7 percent of voters in at least 30 House districts, voters will be able to decide on the matter and Alaska could become the third state in the nation to legalize recreational pot use, The Washington Times reported.

The proposed initiative will allow adults 21 and older to possess up to an ounce of pot and grow up to six marijuana plants. It would also require the state of Alaska "to create rules for regulating recreational-use pot stores within nine months of enactment," Reuters reported.

"The proposed initiative will take marijuana sales out of the underground market and put them in legitimate, taxpaying businesses," Tim Hinterberger, one of the sponsors of the ballot drive, told CNN. "Replacing marijuana prohibition with a system of taxation and sensible regulation will bolster Alaska's economy by creating jobs and generating revenue for the state."

In an interview with Reuters, Hinterberger added that marijuana prohibition is a failed policy that has made criminals out of law-abiding Americans for "far too long."

If the measure passes, Alaska will join Colorado and Washington in legalizing recreational use of marijuana.

Alaska now has a medical allowance for marijuana CNN reported. It is one of the 20 states to allow it.

The push to legalize pot for recreational use in Alaska is part of a broader "state-by-state effort to end prohibition of the drug," Reuters reported. There are other states mulling over the matter, including Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana and Nevada.