heatheraloo

AP) DENVER Residents of the Mile High City on Tuesday legalized the possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for adults, capping a surprisingly nasty campaign that included allegations of misleading voters and exploiting their fears of violent crime.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, 54 percent, or 56,001 voters, cast ballots for the ordinance, while 46 percent, or 48,632 voters, voted against it.

Also Tuesday, voters in the ski resort town of Telluride rejected a proposal to make possession of an ounce or less of marijuana by people 18 or older the town's lowest law enforcement priority. The measure, rejected on a vote of 308-332, was placed on the ballot in August by the Town Council.

"We educated voters about the facts that marijuana is less harmful to the user and society than alcohol," said Mason Tvert, campaign organizer for SAFER, or Safer Alternatives For Enjoyable Recreation. "To prohibit adults from making the rational, safer choice to use marijuana is bad public policy."

Bruce Mirken of the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project said he hoped the approval will launch a national trend toward legalizing a drug whose enforcement he said causes more problems than it cures.

He said government regulation -- and taxation -- of the drug would halt clandestine growing operations, make it more difficult for teenagers to obtain marijuana and free space in prisons.

But the Denver proposal seemed to draw at least as much attention for supporters' campaign tactics as it did for the question of legalizing the drug.

Tvert based the campaign on his argument that legalizing marijuana would reduce consumption of alcohol, which he said leads to higher rates of car accidents, domestic and street violence and crime.

The group criticized Mayor John Hickenlooper for opposing the proposal, noting his ownership of a popular brewpub. It also held up recent violent crimes, including the shootings of four people in a span of several hours last weekend, as a reason to legalize marijuana to steer people away from alcohol use.

Hickenlooper said voters were likely paying more attention to other issues on the ballot, including a state budget fix, a proposal to dramatically change the way Denver schoolteachers are paid and a proposal to increase lodging taxes to promote tourism.

"I think it's in some way a symbol that some attitudes are changing, but I wouldn't read too much into it," he said

Supporters' tactics angered local officials and some voters. Many opponents also said it made no sense to prevent prosecution by Denver authorities while marijuana charges are most often filed under state and federal law.

Tvert defended his actions, saying the campaign's statements were based on facts gleaned from government studies and crime reports. He also said he doubted that enforcement of federal laws would be strengthened in Denver, and said continued or increased enforcement of state laws in the city would violate voters' will.

Chris Bogren, 21, a political science major at the University of Colorado-Denver, said he came close to voting against the proposal because he was "really disgusted" by the campaign, but said he agreed with underlying arguments

"It is a lot more sedate of a drug than alcohol or a lot of other things," he said. "It doesn't necessarily lead to violence and the gateway-drug theory is bunk."

Under the measure, residents over 21 years old could possess up to an ounce of marijuana. It would not affect the medical marijuana law voters approved in 2000.

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that medical marijuana laws in Colorado and nine other states would not protect licensed users from federal prosecution.

Tvert has said the campaign in Denver and similar, nonbinding initiatives passed by students at the University of Colorado in Boulder and Colorado State University in Fort Collins are part of a larger plan to move to state regulation and taxation of marijuana.

heatheraloo

w00t w00t!!

anabolic frolic

Other states have done this but the federal government trumps the states laws in these matters. Is this one any different?

shadowmanvurt

No, this one isn't any different. People will still get arrested for possessing marijuana in Denver. BUT, it signals a change in public opinion. A change I am all for. Marijuana should be legal.

heatheraloo

If this topic interests anyone you should check out Norm Stamper. An ex-police chief from Seattle who has a very interesting perspective on basically all aspects of Drug Legalization. Has a pretty good book out too called "Breaking Rank." Not only is public opinion on Legalization becoming more popular but new scientific studies are even indicating that more studies are and will be taking place to uncover health benefits for some people. One study by Xia Zhang, an associate professor with the Neuropsychiatry Research Unit at the University of Saskatchewan, has a report coming out in the Journal of Clinical Investigation in November that shows controlled marijuana treatments can increase brain cell growth in the hippocampus area of the brain. The region is associated with learning and memory, as well as anxiety and depression.

Quite interesting and exciting to see these issues finally be handled in a way that may promote others to take a new look at the benefits of legalization.

kylefabulous

*spark it up*

Pass it my way please

Busta

Way to go Denver!

While it's true that the federal government trumps the city government, it doesn't really matter. It's the local police that are going to arrest you for possession, not the feds. So if it's okay with them then what more do you need? Wouldn't that be great to get stopped by the police and have them find a small bag of pot on you then say, "Looks like you have about a 1/2 oz of pot here. You're free to go. Have a nice day."

My question then is this... If you lived in a city that legalized cannabis could an employer give you a drug test and fire you if you tested positive for marijuana? If it isn't illegal then would that be discrimination?

__________________
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the number of hits we take from the bong

waffle

Hellz yes!!!

This isn't as far as this should go yet, but its a start and hopefully it'll help get other states to follow. In time, hopefully we will be able to legally smoke under ALL laws.

__________________
http://www.lyradesign.net/images/chaosbanner.gif

4real

So then, can i sell an ounce in Denver?

AznAstronaut

Only posession was legalized... presumably sale is still a crime? Seems to be more symbolic than anything else, but I say way to go.

4real

so then how are these people that can have an ounce going to buy it?

kylefabulous

exactly...

lol grow it silly

anabolic frolic

The funny/sad thing is that the US has been pressuring Canada to not decriminilize possession here, yet several of their states already have.

Busta

Because it's the federal government that is putting the pressure on Canada. I swear the federal government grows farther away from the views and beliefs of its citizens every day.

I think the new motto goes something like: "America, for the big corporations, by the big corporations."

mintjellie

alcohol isnt illegal but you can still get fired for going to work drunk.

Glyce

Colorado's now trying to get it so that people 21 and up can own under an ounce all over the state and not get in trouble. We'll see how the next votings go. I'm stoked. I'll be able to vote

__________________
Take a look and see, the light still shines in me, In my eyes!

heatheraloo

Is that law being voted on during these upcoming Nov. elections?

__________________
*~*CaFfEiNe KiLlS*~*

PLUR makes my privates tingle

Glyce

Yup, next Tuesday, Amendment 44. Vote yes? I certainly think so

heatheraloo

Vote once for me =) lol.

So does that mean that the FEDs would be the only ones able to arrest a 21+ year-old for posession?

Glyce

Basically it comes down to the cop. If someone is in possession, it's probable cause for them to be doing it, or if they are found in possession with paraphernelia as well, can still be busted. Most of the time it's too much work for cops to go through for a petty crime, so they just tell you (if they find it), to get rid of it anyway. But say a cop feels like being a dick they can just bypass the law because the federal law trumps it. It's totally dependent on the cop.

heatheraloo

So it comes down to luck, lol. Oh well, this still is GREAT because it shows a rise in public opinion who condones legalization. Ahh.. =)

Glyce

Exactly =)

....

<~~~ (Fuckin' STOKED)

heatheraloo

stoked or stoned?
=)

Glyce

BOTH! Totally gonna get down on some green mistress on the way to Arizona, and we're gonna smoke a preparatory J as well. and of course, the day I come back, I get to vote to legalize it. Oh goodness. The insanity =)

Hope you're groovin' on fair mary yourself this weekend heather, have fun mate!