Colorado legalizing marijuana

[loves420]

Colorado measure legalizing marijuana passes

 

P

 

Posted: 11/06/2012 05:04:47 PM MST

Updated: 11/06/2012 09:22:12 PM MST

By Sadie Gurman

The Denver Post

 

http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2012/1106/20121106__colorado_marijuana_ballot~p1.jpg

Supporters Genifer Murray, left, Amalia Janisch, and Becca Chavez, right, erupt in cheers as positive numbers come in for Amendment 64. Supporters of Amendment 64, the campaign to regulate marijuana like alcohol, gather at Casselman's in Denver on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012. (Kathryn Scott Osler, The Denver Post)

 

 

 

Related

• Nov 6:
  
• Obama re-elected to 2nd term
  
• Obama wins Pennsylvania
  
• Mitt Romney wins Republican-dominated Texas
  
• Romney wins Georgia, Tennessee
  
• Polis wins third term in the traditionally Democratic 2nd district
  
• Romney in Indiana, South Carolina
  
• Obama beats Romney in Conn. for 7 electoral votes
  
• General election polls closing across Texas
  
• Romney wins in West Virginia
  
• DeGette sails to ninth term in Colorado's 1st district
  
• Gardner holds off challenger to retain Colorado's 4th district
  
• Three Denver tax proposals pass
  
• Obama wins Vermont, Romney takes Kentucky
  

An amendment that would make it legal in Colorado for individuals to possess and for businesses to sell marijuana for recreational use has passed.

The Denver Post made the call at approximately 9:15 p.m.

Amendment 64 led with 52.7 percent voting yes and 47.3 percent voting no, with 1,507,746 votes or more than 50 percent of active voters counted, according to the Colorado Secretary of State's office. The office said 25 counties had reported.

The early results prompted cheers throughout Casselman's, a downtown bar

 

 

2012 Election Day

• COMPLETE RESULTS: All races, by county, city & district
  
• Presidential Results with maps
  
• U.S. House Results
  
• Colorado Amendment Results
  
• LIVE BLOG: Keep up with latest news, info throughout Colorado.
  
• More photos of 2012 Election Day all across Colorado.
  
• Get more news and analysis and back-room politics on The Spot blog.
  
• Find out who's who and what's what with The Denver Post Voter Guide.
  
• Watch video of Election Day passions running deep in Jefferson County.
  
• See photos of what voters dealt with at polling places in Denver.
  
• More photos of President Obama and Mitt Romney on the last day of campaigning.
  

where hundreds of supporters were gathering.

Mason Tvert, co-director of Yes on 64, said the crowd was cautiously optimistic.

"We're not going to jump to any conclusions just yet," he said. "But we believe Colorado voters have decided to take a more sensible approach to how we deal with marijuana in the state."

If the amendment passes, Colorado could become the first state to legalize recreational use of the drug, possibly clearing the way for creation of a marijuana industry. There are similar measures before voters in Washington and Oregon.

The ballot measure to amend the state constitution has fostered a national discussion about marijuana policy. Supporters hope approval would place pressure on the federal government to end marijuana prohibition everywhere. But critics say it could make Colorado a destination for drug tourists and prompt a federal crackdown.

"It's unprecedented," said Jonathan Caulkins, a Carnegie Mellon University professor whose research focuses on marijuana legalization. Implications would be "huge and impossible to pinpoint," he said, and would put Colorado to the left of the Netherlands when it comes to marijuana policy.

The amendment would allow those 21 and older to purchase up to one ounce of the drug at specially regulated retail stores. Possession would be legal, but not public use. Adults could grow up to six marijuana plants in their homes.

Proponents have said the measure would not only divert profits from dangerous drug cartels to legitimate businesses, it would also generate tens of millions of dollars in tax revenues for state and local governments.

Opponents say the revenue boost is uncertain and that approval would make Colorado a tourist destination for illegal drug dealers. They also say Amendment 64 would lead to greater use of the drug by children, and to more drugged driving.

Campaigns fighting for and against the measure have raised nearly $4 million this election season, and the latest Denver Post poll showed it had support of 50 percent of voters, while 44 percent opposed it.

"We've been working over the past several years to build support among Colorado voters for ending the failed marijuana prohibition," said Tvert.

Even if the measure passes, questions about its enforcement and long-term ramifications abound.

State criminal penalties for possessing the drug would disappear as soon as the election is certified, which could take up to two months.

The first recreational stores would be slated to open in January 2014 and would be separate from already existing medical marijuana dispensaries. Local governments could ban marijuana sales, and employers could still bar employees from using the drug.

The amendment doesn't spell out the details of how the commercial marijuana industry will be regulated. It leaves that up to the state Department of Revenue, which would oversee the specialty shops. Proponents envision something similar to the state's system governing medical-marijuana businesses, which involves security requirements, the monitoring of plants as they are grown and shipped and auditors who perform site checks.

There's also the question of how the federal government will respond. A state law legalizing marijuana is a direct challenge to federal drug law, which regulates it as an illegal substance. Caulkins said federal agents could arrest individual users, though that would be a departure from their usual focus on large-scale dealers.

Adding to the uncertainty: the outcome of the presidential race.

"It's really anyone's guess how the federal government will handle this," he said.

The Colorado U.S. attorney's office has said little about what it might do. A spokesman said the office would not change its approach to enforcement, which for medical marijuana has included ordering dispensaries near schools to shut down and raids on retailers who allegedly sell to the black-market.

In the year before the first stores open, the federal government may choose to challenge the measure in court by arguing that it is pre-empted by federal laws against pot.

"The implementation issues are huge," said Roger Sherman, director of the No on 64 Campaign. He noted that because the measure is a constitutional amendment, it would have to go back to voters for repairs if there are problems. The legislature would be unable to intervene. "This is just wrong for Colorado. It's not something Colorado needs to be known for."

Seventeen states had efforts to put a marijuana legalization measure on the ballot in 2012 and just three succeeded. Voters in Washington and Oregon vote on similar proposals on Tuesday.

Sadie Gurman: 303-954-1661, sgurman@denverpost.com or twitter.com/sgurman

 

Read more: Colorado measure legalizing marijuana passes - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_21941918/nation-watches-colorados-marijuana-legalization-vote#ixzz2BVo50m2k

Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse

 

 

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_21941918/nation-watches-colorados-marijuana-legalization-vote

[Mary Jane Stoner]

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/07/colorado-washington-pass-marijuana-legalization-oregon-says-no/

 

Hooray! It took a lifetime but the first nails are appearing in the coffin of prohibition. I love peaceful revolutions. Pity about Oregon. Must be one of the more backward states.

[loves420]

Colorado was the first state to repeal the alcohol prohibition which lead to it ending on a national level, but a lot of people got busted on a fed lvl in Colorado before this happened. Lets see if this follows suit, hopefully it will on the nation wide side but not on a lot of people getting busted at a fed lvl before, only time will tell.

[loves420]

Oregon is not a backwards state. was of the 1st to legalize mmj, I'm a oregon mmj patient and that card has saved my rear more then once both in meds and legal. measure 80 has had many names over the 8-12 yrs, same bad law, just a different bow on it.

I think Oregon will legalize cannabis in 2 or 4 years......We got 45% for measure 80 with virtually no advertising. if we had the same measure as CO, I think it would passed here

Edited November 7, 2012 by loves420

[loves420]

here's a backwards state Arkansas

CNN: Medical Marijuana Fails in Arkansas

 

http://arkansasmatters.com/fulltext?nxd_id=604862