A Boulder County mountain town known for its laid-back, hippie vibe and quirky events is putting itself on the map once again, this time with separate proposals from residents to legalize all marijuana and to host a two-day festival promoting the drug's medicinal uses.

Nederland resident and former town Trustee Michael "Michigan Mike" Torpie said Monday that he has gathered enough signatures to put a measure on the ballot for the town's April 6 election asking voters to essentially legalize marijuana.

The question, which Torpie said was certified Thursday, will ask voters to legalize the possession, distribution, consumption, cultivation and transportation of marijuana or any of its derivatives -- such as the hashish concentrate -- along with possession and use of marijuana paraphernalia for anyone 21 or older.

The town clerk was out of town Monday and unavailable to confirm that the measure is finalized.

Torpie said he was inspired to work toward a ballot question after voters in Breckenridge overwhelmingly agreed in November to legalize the adult possession of up to 1 ounce of marijuana.

"I heard after the fact that Breckenridge had legalized marijuana," said Torpie, 41. "I said, 'Wow, you could just do that?' We should have done it first."

Torpie, who needed to gather the support of at least 65 of Nederland's 1,283 registered voters to have the question appear on the ballot, said he's supporting the movement to promote civil liberties.

"I am about free choice of people," he said. "Adults should be able to do what they want. We shouldn't have the government saying what we can and can't do."

Still, he said he knows local police can choose to enforce state and federal laws -- which still define marijuana as a controlled substance -- at their discretion.

"It's important for people to remember that this measure is largely symbolic," Torpie conceded. "Really, it won't change anything."

Instead, Torpie hopes the town will approve the change and join other municipalities in sending a message to lawmakers that marijuana is becoming more acceptable.

Police chief: 'It's a bad idea'

Ken Robinson, Nederland's chief of police, said he is unequivocally opposed to any such ballot question.

If anything, Robinson warned that doing away with local ordinances -- some of which make the possession of pot or pot paraphernalia minor offenses -- would leave officers with no choice but to write tickets under state laws. That could mean stiffer penalties and criminal records for possession of even small amounts of marijuana.

"We're not going to ignore violations of the law," Robinson said. "If there is no legal consequences (of a ballot measure) except to hurt people that use small amounts, I think it's a bad idea."

But Nederland Trustee Sumaya Abu-Haidar said she thinks it's important for the town to take a stand on marijuana, one way or the other.

"It's an important issue, and it's going to be a big one for Nederland," she said. "It's a discussion that's going to happen not only on the state level, but more broadly in the country."

A festival of green

Meanwhile, organizers of the annual Peak to Peak Music Festival are petitioning the town trustees next week to allow a two-day music and art festival that promotes and is centered around medicinal marijuana.

The Peak to Peak Cannabis Festival would be held July 17-18 at the town's Guercio Ball Field and would draw an estimated 1,500 to 3,000 people a day. It would feature folk music, massage therapists, medical-marijuana dispensaries and an area specifically set aside for patients to use the plant.

Cynthia Davis, one of the organizers of the proposed festival, said Colorado is undergoing a transformation in how marijuana is viewed legally and socially.

"We feel that there needs to be an increasing amount of education to the public regarding the actual uses of cannabis," Davis said, including its use as an "energy source."

She said the festival would not allow the smoking of marijuana, or any form of recreational marijuana use. Instead, attendees with medical-marijuana prescription cards would be able to buy the drug from a variety of dispensaries on site and eat it, drink it as a tincture extract or inhale it through a vaporizer in tents set away from the general public.

"It's geared around art, it's geared around music and it's geared around this plant that has 25,000 uses," Davis said.

The festival would not, she emphasized, become a "pot rally," as some in the community have feared.

'As it is, we've got a frozen dead guy'

Nederland Mayor Martin Cheshes is among those who oppose the festival.

"This is a very pretty town, and it's got a lot going for it," he said. "As it is, we've got a frozen dead guy, and that's what we're known for. I'd hate to add (marijuana) to that reputation."

The town's annual "Frozen Dead Guy Days" celebrates the frozen remains of Bredo Morstoel.

Cheshes said he doesn't think the town should be getting into the business of legislating, or promoting, things that are banned by state or federal laws.

"That's not our business," he said.

But Trustee Betty Porter said plans for the festival are well thought out and geared toward education more than the glorification of drugs.

"A lot of people hear the word 'cannabis,' and they flare up," she said. "Personally, I can't see anything they're proposing that would justify denying the application."