Photos: Alaska legalizes recreational marijuana

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Angel McCabe smokes a joint in Girdwood Tuesday. McCabe said she has volunteered for several marijuana advocacy groups and that work will continue as legalization regulations are implemented. "I feel like I'm still in the middle of the battle," she said. Marijuana advocates gathered to celebrate the first day of legalization in Alaska with a dinner party in Girdwood on Tuesday, February 24, 2015. The event was hosted by Alaska Green Cross.

On Tuesday, Alaska became the third state in the nation to legalize recreational marijuana.

It turned out to be both a historic moment and a deeply understated occasion. With retail pot sales still at least a year off and public consumption banned, people who marked the moment mostly did so in private.

Anchorage police said they had handed out zero tickets for public consumption of marijuana as of midday Tuesday.

But at one rented condominium up a gravel road in Girdwood, legalization day was cause for an all-out party.

Read more: Marking a historic moment with plenty of now-legal pot