Posted on 08/17/2006 3:38:19 PM PDT by Wolfie
Marijuana Amendment Will Be On Ballot
Denver -- Coloradans are to decide this fall whether to make it legal under state law for anyone age 21 and older to possess up to an ounce of marijuana. Secretary of State Gigi Dennis said Wednesday that backers of that initiative had turned in enough signatures to qualify for the Nov. 7 general election. The proposal will be Amendment 44 on the state ballot, Dennis said.
Under Colorado law, anyone in possession of an ounce or less of marijuana can be charged with a Class 2 petty offense, punishable by a fine of up to $100.
Legislative staffers preparing an analysis of the initiative report that during the 2005-06 state budget year, state courts convicted 3,700 adults for possession of such amounts of marijuana.
The legalization proposal is being pushed by SAFER, an organization that asserts that marijuana is a “Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation” than alcohol.
“The campaign will highlight the hypocrisy of laws that prohibit the use of marijuana while allowing and even encouraging the use of alcohol, an infinitely more harmful drug,” SAFER spokesman Mason Tvert said Wednesday.
If approved by voters, Amendment 44 would change state law to allow adults age 21 and older to possess or use small amounts of marijuana, according to the legislative staff analysis, as long as that use doesn’t occur in public. It still would be illegal for anyone younger than 21 to possess any amount of marijuana or for people 21 and older to possess amounts more than an ounce.
It also would still be illegal for individuals age 18 and older to transfer any amount of marijuana to anyone younger than 15.
State laws also would continue to ban: growing or selling marijuana; open and public display, use or consumption of marijuana; and driving under the influence of marijuana.
SAFER has noted that even if voters OK the initiative, home-rule cities and towns would still have the ability to ticket and prosecute marijuana users under local ordinances.
Last year, SAFER successfully campaigned for an ordinance change to make it legal for an adult to possess up to an ounce of marijuana in Denver, but the organization has complained that Denver continues to prosecute people under state law.
Tvert said in an interview that voter passage of a state legalization measure would “send a large message” to home-rule municipalities “about how the people of Colorado feel about this.”
Tvert said alcohol abuse “contributes to social problems like fighting, sexual assault, property damage and domestic violence. Marijuana use has never been linked to these types of issues.”
Tvert said he expects Amendment 44 to be opposed by members of the state’s law enforcement community, including Colorado Attorney General John Suthers.
Suthers spokeswoman Kristen Holtzman said Wednesday that “the attorney general’s position on this issue has not changed. He is adamantly against the legalization of marijuana.”
Foes of SAFER’s proposal have argued that marijuana use can lead someone to other illegal drugs and thus increase overall drug use and drug abuse in Colorado.
Maybe you didn't notice, that in this article, there are THOUSANDS of state citizens who wish to have a REFERENDUM. Do you have any idea what that means?
It means that "all politics is local!" (is that a good enough cliche' for you? If the citizens of that community (State of Colorado, which defined means the citizens of the area!) whish to allow for the use of marijuana, it will not be the end of civiliztion. As noted, you state your ability do excell in college while using the demon weed.
Your arguments wreak. They defy all intentions of our founding documents. You want to make it about all drugs, but again, this is just about marijuana. Read the article and just say no, or yes!
I am curious as to your view of what the WOD has accomplished to date and what would be accomplished by continuing the WOD. What have we gotten for our trillion dollars?
Oh God, all the weirdos are coming out of the woodwork now.
You have to try to do better than this. Really.
Our War on Drugs is the real joke. Is there any other harmless thing that personally offends your delicate sensibilities that you'd like to ban? Maybe you don't like brussel sprouts, you can send the Feds to raid anyone eating them.
That's what I've been tryin' to tell you, but you keep on repeating the same tired crap. You wish to impose your personal views on others. We get it, now go away!
Petty much the same thing we get for our education dollars: nothing much!
Anecdotal evidence post quota reached. Further logical fallacies no longer required on thread!
Strawman. Drug laws should be enforced at the state level. Federal drug laws are unconstitutional.
No one argues better against the WOD than the people who see its' failures day in and day out from the inside.
Those guys (LEAP) have a lot of guts speaking out, but then again people firmly grounded in their principals usually do.
Why on earth would the government tax themselves out of the market? That's just stupid.
Congratulations."
You were the one rude enough to ask
Are you living below ground, and not tuned into the news?
Look at the taxes on cigarettes, and tell me again how the gubmint has "taxed themselves out of the market".....
It's not so much a question of states' rights. It's a question of enumerated Federal powers. But it's a moot point because that argument was already lost.
But then again, look at the anti-smoking nazis.
By anti-smoking nazis I assume you mean people who vote to restrict smoking in public places? I don't get what that has to do with this issue at all. It's certainly not a "states rights" issue, since the cigarette laws are state laws.
The question with pot isn't where you can smoke it, but CAN you smoke it.
Let me know when they get around to arresting adults for possession of Camels.
Now the ONDCP will come in to organize the campaign to defeat it, and the proponents will get to watch their federal tax dollars subsidize the opposition.
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