Colorado, Washington first states to legalize recreational pot

Chicago Tribune ^ | 11/07/2012 | Keith Coffman and Nicole Neroulias

[SeekAndFind]

DENVER/SEATTLE (Reuters) - Colorado and Washington became the first U.S. states to legalize the possession and sale of marijuana for recreational use on Tuesday in defiance of federal law, setting the stage for a possible showdown with the Obama administration.

But another ballot measure to remove criminal penalties for personal possession and cultivation of recreational cannabis was defeated in Oregon, where significantly less money and campaign organization was devoted to the cause.

Supporters of a Colorado constitutional amendment legalizing marijuana were the first to declare victory, and opponents conceded defeat, after returns showed the measure garnering nearly 53 percent of the vote versus 47 percent against.

"Colorado will no longer have laws that steer people toward using alcohol, and adults will be free to use marijuana instead if that is what they prefer. And we will be better off as a society because of it," said Mason Tvert, co-director of the Colorado pro-legalization campaign.

The Drug Policy Alliance, a national advocacy group that backed the initiatives, said the outcome in Washington and Colorado reflected growing national support for liberalized pot laws, citing a Gallup poll last year that found 50 percent of Americans favored making it legal, versus 46 opposed.

Supporters of Washington state's pot legalization initiative declared victory after the Seattle Times and other media projected a win for marijuana proponents.

[JustSayNoToNannies]

The gateway claim is nonsense - research shows that the correlation between earlier marijuana use and later use of other drugs can be explained by a "common-factor" model, that is, a third factor that causes both results, such as individuals' opportunities and unique propensities to use drugs, or mor broadly a social or psychological predisposition towards anti-social behaviour. (http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB6010/index1.html, http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/hors253.pdf)

Also note that the same sort of correlation between earlier marijuana and later harder drugs also exists between earlier alcohol and tobacco and later illegal drugs - so if marijuana is a "gateway" so are alcohol and tobacco.

[wardaddy]

I didn’t admit anything honey....nice straw man dodge though

First drug I ever took was a Kool menthol non filter...then Falstaff ..in steel can...then a Darvon

actually come to think of it...Paregoric as a baby..that anise flavor..hence I guess I went right to opiates eh..teething little junkie I was by Reefer Madness logic

Good lord

FReepers preoccupation with marihuana is nonsensical

arguably one of the prime conduits to privacy and property rights...and guns too while we are at it...erosion

I will never ever agree with you on this...you need to think outside your confessed issues with mom and her pot

cause everyone is not like that

I’m sorry your generation gets the blame their folks so much for everything...I’m a lot older than you and we had screwed up folks too at times but nobody droned on about it

you know why?

nobody would listen

there were victim groups then

just oppressive white males...and it was great..lol

[RinaseaofDs]

Your generation will go down, not as the boomers, but as the locusts. After you guys, there won’t be anything left.

And it isn’t our preoccupation with your generation’s use of drugs, whatever they happened to be - it’s your generation’s proclivity for bailing on their responsibilities.

[Black Agnes]

I’m gonna pop popcorn for his response to this one. Specially that last sentence.

[JustSayNoToNannies]

First drug I ever took was a Kool menthol non filter...then Falstaff ..in steel can

Yup, those are gateway drugs if anything is.