Party! Pot, gay marriage to become legal in Wash.

By Isolde Raftery, NBC News SEATTLE – When the clock strikes midnight here on Thursday, gay couples will be lined up outside the county courthouse to obtain marriage licenses, and pot lovers will be gathered beneath the Space Needle to light up. That's because last month, on Nov. 6, Washington state voters approved marriage for same-sex couples and legalizing marijuana. Both laws go into effect at midnight. The King County Recorder's Office will open its doors to couples at 12:01 a.m. Eight couples have been selected as the first to receive their marriage licenses. Among them: Pete-e Peterson, 85, and Jane Abbott Lighty, 77, have been together for 35 years and co-founded the Seattle Women's Chorus. They will be getting married during a Seattle Men's Chorus concert on Sunday. (Under state law, couples must wait at least three days to get married after obtaining their licenses, which means they may marry on Sunday.) Peterson grew up in Alabama and was an Air Evacuation nurse during the Korean War. She adopted her sister's 3-year-old daughter and raised her. Lighty, who grew up mostly in the Bay Area, was also a nurse. Another couple, Amanda Beane and Anne Bryson-Beane, have been together for 15 years. They have adopted seven children who are between four and 12. (They will all be at the ceremony, some in their pajamas.)   Neil Hoyt, 52, and Donald Glenn Jenny, 64, have been together for 24 years and will also be getting married at the Seattle Men's Chorus concert on Sunday night. Hoyt is a computer technician and Jenny is a children's book illustrator who builds dollhouses for auctions and fundraisers. Said Hoyt in a statement: "After 23 years of being 'just roommates' according to the law, our relationship will be considered worthy by the state.  It will be exciting to be legal, finally, with the only man I've ever loved." According to UCLA's Williams Institute, same-sex marriage could pump $57 million to the state economy in the first year – resulting in $5 million of tax revenue. Across town, revelers prepared to roll a joint or lift a pipe – even though, it is illegal to smoke marijuana in public in Washington state. Not that smokers should be too worried. Sgt. Sean Whitcomb told The Associated Press that the Seattle Police Department does not expect to write many tickets – a 2003 law made marijuana the department's lowest priority. Related: For those hazy on pot law, Seattle police produces marijuana guide But Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes discouraged celebrants from smoking in public, telling KUOW that they should smoke at home. "And be thankful that we're no longer arresting some 10,000 Washingtonians a year in the state of Washington and spending well over $100 million in law enforcement resources on that," he added. "And especially be grateful for lessening the racially disproportionate impact that these crazy drug laws have on our communities of color." Ahead of midnight, the U.S. Department of Justice issued several sobering statements, reminding revelers that pot remains illegal at the federal level, and that any amount of the substance may not be brought into federal buildings, national parks and forests and military installations. And according to one statement:  The Department of Justice is reviewing the legalization initiatives recently passed in Colorado and Washington State. The Department's responsibility to enforce the Controlled Substances Act remains unchanged. Neither States nor the Executive branch can nullify a statute passed by Congress. More content from NBCNews.com: In 911 call, Belcher's mom begs girlfriend not to die Bob Costas: We need to talk about America's gun culture Snow, cold missing across much of the US Conversion therapists: 'You can't say gay once, gay always' West Point cadet quits, cites 'criminal' behavior of officers Video: Photographer: 'No way' I could have saved subway victim Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook