(Reuters) -Shares of pot companies slid on Wednesday after a ballot measure to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in Florida failed to get the required majority to pass, even as the firms invested millions in a campaign to tap the lucrative market.

More than half of Florida voters approved of Amendment 3, but it did not reach the required 60 percent threshold to pass.

Florida voters rejected a ballot measure that would have legalized recreational marijuana for adults at least 21 years old and allowed them to possess up to 3 ounces of marijuana. It failed to obtain the required 60% threshold at a time when the U.