|
ShattrdHarlequin
Stranger

Registered: 01/08/03
Posts: 344
Last seen: 10 years, 4 months
|
Colorado WILL have the chance to Legalize Marijuana in November
#5972902 - 08/17/06 01:38 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
Lets all get out there and vote people!!
http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6978
Colorado Cannabis Legalization Initiative Certified For November Ballot
August 17, 2006 - Denver, CO, USA
Denver, CO: The Colorado Secretary of State's office announced Wednesday that a statewide initiative that seeks to eliminate all criminal and civil penalties for the possession of cannabis by adults has been certified to appear on the November 2006 ballot.
Sponsored by Safer Alternatives For Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER), the measure would amend state statutes to make the possession of up to one ounce of cannabis legal in Colorado for those age 21 or older. Last year, voters in Denver passed a similar municipal initiative by 54 percent.
Sponsors turned in more than 130,000 signatures from Colorado voters to qualify the measure for the November ballot.
"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," said SAFER Campaign Director Mason Tvert.
|
GSxx83
He, Himself


Registered: 04/13/06
Posts: 195
Loc: EARTH
Last seen: 14 years, 2 months
|
Re: Colorado WILL have the chance to Legalize Marijuana in November [Re: ShattrdHarlequin]
#5972935 - 08/17/06 01:46 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
Could this be the begining of a revolution?
I hope so,
but i can't help but wonder, how far will Washington go to makes sure this DOESN'T happen?
|
wortiesbo


Registered: 03/18/06
Posts: 866
Loc: new vegas
Last seen: 6 years, 9 days
|
Re: Colorado WILL have the chance to Legalize Marijuana in November [Re: GSxx83]
#5972939 - 08/17/06 01:48 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
me thinks that if more states and cities jump on the bandwagon, the federal government will have no choice but to decriminalize it as well.
--------------------
|
Ramlaen
Pysconaut


Registered: 11/06/04
Posts: 638
Last seen: 13 years, 1 month
|
Re: Colorado WILL have the chance to Legalize Marijuana in November [Re: wortiesbo]
#5972957 - 08/17/06 01:54 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
I believe the argument the supreme court placed against not decriminilizing it had to do with interstate commerce clause, stating that bordering states would be effected. So until lots decriminalized i expect no nationwide changes
|
Da_Vine
eat me


Registered: 07/03/04
Posts: 300
Loc: jamaica mon
|
Re: Colorado WILL have the chance to Legalize Marijuana in November [Re: Ramlaen]
#5972979 - 08/17/06 02:00 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
from the Marijuana: Colorado Legalization Backers Turn in 110,000 Signatures in Ballot Bid thread
If the measure makes the ballot, Colorado will join Nevada as states where voters will have a chance to decide on removing all criminal penalties for the possession of personal amounts of marijuana by adults. Currently, Alaska is the only state to allow adults to legally possess marijuana -- up to one ounce in the privacy of their homes
so if im not mistaken nevada will vote to legalize also...
Edited by ANTS (08/17/06 02:05 PM)
|
AncientAstronaut
STRANGEr

Registered: 08/12/06
Posts: 3
Last seen: 17 years, 5 months
|
Re: Colorado WILL have the chance to Legalize Marijuana in November [Re: Da_Vine]
#5973829 - 08/17/06 06:18 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
Why just Marijuna? They should try to legalize mushrooms and other hallucinogens as well. I guess one step at a time.
Edited by AncientAstronaut (08/17/06 06:20 PM)
|
76degrees
Apprentice

Registered: 06/08/06
Posts: 350
Loc: Middle Earth
Last seen: 17 years, 4 months
|
Re: Colorado WILL have the chance to Legalize Marijuana in November [Re: AncientAstronaut]
#5973946 - 08/17/06 06:54 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
one step at a time baby. one step at a time. but don't count your chickens till they hatch. there is much more work in store. and just because it's on the ballot to be voted on does not mean it will pass. i got my fingers crossed tho! go colorado! *and nevada!
-------------------- The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it.
|
Nephlyte
Misfortunate One


Registered: 10/11/05
Posts: 1,025
Loc: South Texas
Last seen: 13 years, 5 months
|
Re: Colorado WILL have the chance to Legalize Marijuana in November [Re: Ramlaen]
#5974533 - 08/17/06 09:55 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
Ramlaen said: I believe the argument the supreme court placed against not decriminilizing it had to do with interstate commerce clause, stating that bordering states would be effected. So until lots decriminalized i expect no nationwide changes
Yup, the federal government still has carte blache powers to make anything they want illegal.
But, the change will be that state police, who have power to press state charges, won't be able to do anything about pot. Now, if they want to hold marijuana offenders and wait 'till the feds show up, that will still be legal.
-------------------- "To do right is to know what you want. Now when you are dissatisfied with yourself it's because you are after something you don't really want. What objects are you proposing to yourself? Are they the objects you really value? If they are not, you are cheating yourself. I don't meant that if you chose to pursue the objects you most value, you will attain them; of course not. Your experience will tell you that. But success in getting after much labor what you really don't care for is the bitterest and most ridiculous failure." -George Santayana
|
StroFun
Repeater

Registered: 07/11/06
Posts: 977
Loc: Mycotopia.net
|
Re: Colorado WILL have the chance to Legalize Marijuana in November [Re: ShattrdHarlequin]
#5975392 - 08/18/06 08:43 AM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
Re: Colorado WILL have the chance to Legalize Marijuana in November taken from:http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/449/colorado_marijuana_legalization_initiative_makes_ballot.shtml Feature: Colorado Marijuana Possession Legalization Initiative Makes the Ballot 8/18/06 http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/449/...es_ballot.shtml The Colorado secretary of state announced Wednesday that an initiative that would legalize the possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for people aged 21 and older has submitted sufficient signatures to make the November ballot. Organized by SAFER Colorado, the group that won a surprise legalization initiative victory last year in Denver, the Colorado Alcohol-Marijuana Equalization Initiative would push the state to the forefront of marijuana law reform by simply changing one sentence in the state statutes.
The announcement came less than two weeks after SAFER Colorado handed in more than 130,000 signatures, well more than the 80,000 needed to qualify for the ballot. The secretary of state's office certified the measure for the ballot based on a statistical sampling of the signatures.
"We are thrilled," said SAFER Colorado's Steve Fox. "We had well more signatures than we needed, and that allowed us to get this quick qualification instead of having the secretary of state going though our petitions line by line," he told Drug War Chronicle.
The initiative, which will be known as Amendment 44 on the ballot, asks voters to vote yes or no on the following question: "Shall there be an amendment to section 18-18-406 (1) of the Colorado revised statutes making legal the possession of one ounce or less of marihuana for any person twenty-one years of age or older?"
Under current Colorado law, possession of up to an ounce of marijuana is a Class 2 misdemeanor punishable by a fine up of to $100. According to legislative staffers who prepared an analysis of the initiative, some 3,700 adults were convicted of simple marijuana possession last year.
Colorado now joins Nevada as states where voters this November will decide whether to radically reform the marijuana laws. In Nevada, the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) and its local affiliate, the Committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana are pushing an initiative that would not only legalize possession of up to an ounce, but would also allow for the regulated sales of like amounts.
MPP is not involved in the Colorado effort, but hopes it succeeds, said communications director Bruce Mirken. "This was a little bit of a surprise," he told Drug War Chronicle. "We wish them well. Nobody should underestimate these folks -- they surprised the whole world with their success in Denver last year."
In an odd way, that victory spurred the statewide effort. After the citizens of Denver voted for the ordinance, local law enforcement officials refused to abide by it, instead choosing to prosecute people under the state law. SAFER Colorado wants to take away that option. If the measure passes in November, communities in Colorado that want tougher marijuana laws would have to pass local ordinances and charge offenders under them.
The campaign will continue to emphasize its tried and tested theme that marijuana is safer than alcohol and, at the least, should not be treated more severely. That theme resonated strongly with students at the University of Colorado and Colorado State University, both of which passed non-binding resolutions calling for equalization of penalties, as well as with voters in Denver last fall.
SAFER Colorado campaign director Mason Tvert was right on point Wednesday. "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," he said in a statement greeting the secretary of state's announcement.
Now it is time to win the election, said Fox. "We are doing some fundraising so we can distribute our materials and get our message out," he said. "We have a lot of fun items -- t-shirts, buttons, stickers -- that are aimed at people who support us but who don't necessarily get around to voting all the time. It is their duty to get out and vote, and we will do what we can to encourage them."
It will be an uphill battle to win in November. In the only polling done so far on the measure, the Denver Post found it losing 51% to 37%. But Fox looked at those figures and found the glass half full.
"We think that's pretty good as we head into this campaign," he said. "If only 51% support marijuana prohibition before we've even really begun to get our message out, we think we have a pretty good chance of winning. Listen, SAFER is the Barry Goldwater of marijuana. Even if we don't win this time, we are saying what should be done with the confidence that people will come around to our position. It is an undeniable truth that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol," he said. "Our campaign is here in Colorado, but this is about ending marijuana prohibition across the country, not just in one state. We are in this to win over the long haul."
One bright spot for the campaign is the lack so far of any organized opposition. "We have a crazy drug warrior lady who is making noise, but she is not a sophisticated opponent," said Fox. "We have seen one outside drug warrior set up an issue committee here in Colorado, and there are rumors that the attorney general is planning to put together an opposition group possibly made up of law enforcement officials, but that hasn't happened yet," he explained. "We hope that the law enforcement community will understand that they are law enforcers, not law makers, and they should let the people decide what the laws will be."
Colorado's official nickname is the Centennial State, but one of its unofficial sobriquets is the Highest State, based on its towering mountains and its average elevation. If Colorado voters approve Amendment 44 in November, undoubtedly many will consider it to be even more deserving of that nickname.
-- END --
yay
|
DNKYD
Turtle!

Registered: 09/23/04
Posts: 12,326
|
Re: Colorado WILL have the chance to Legalize Marijuana in November [Re: StroFun]
#5978263 - 08/19/06 11:48 AM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
Cue Drug Czar John Walters campaigning against legalization in Colorado on the Public's dime.
|
rawtoxic
Stranger
Registered: 10/06/02
Posts: 2,097
Loc: smokey mountains
Last seen: 13 years, 5 months
|
Re: Colorado WILL have the chance to Legalize Marijuana in November [Re: DNKYD]
#5979070 - 08/19/06 04:57 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
If you live in Colorado and only vote ONE TIME in your life this should be it.
|
DNKYD
Turtle!

Registered: 09/23/04
Posts: 12,326
|
Re: Colorado WILL have the chance to Legalize Marijuana in November [Re: rawtoxic]
#5979191 - 08/19/06 05:49 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
If somebody only votes one time in their life they don't deserve to live in a democracy.
But yes, you're right. Every citizen of CO that smokes cannabis, whether heavily or sparingly, is obligated to vote for this.
|
surf rat
pass the dutchie

Registered: 08/19/06
Posts: 988
|
Re: Colorado WILL have the chance to Legalize Marijuana in November [Re: DNKYD]
#5980818 - 08/20/06 02:58 AM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
OMFG if this passes im moving to colorado fuck yes
-------------------- Draft beer, not people.
|
ShroomOmatic
Ethno Apprentice

Registered: 10/14/04
Posts: 2,373
Loc: Sailing the Seas of Chees...
|
Re: Colorado WILL have the chance to Legalize Marijuana in November [Re: surf rat]
#5982577 - 08/20/06 10:28 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
This is actually very exciting. This could be the turning point in the USA on marijuana laws. I hope this goes though, and I hope other states will join in.
--------------------
|
SuperD
Cacti junky


Registered: 10/05/03
Posts: 6,648
Loc: The bridgesii bridge
|
Re: Colorado WILL have the chance to Legalize Marijuana in November [Re: ShroomOmatic]
#5982677 - 08/20/06 11:15 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
i really can't wait to see the end result of all this..very very interesting. GO CO!
--------------------
   D Manoa said: I need to stop spending all my money on plants and take up a cheaper hobby, like heroin. Looking for Rauhocereus riosaniensis seeds or live specimen(s), me if you have any for trade
|
Cloud9
I don't feel, and it feels great



Registered: 07/03/03
Posts: 1,554
Loc: between here and there
|
Re: Colorado WILL have the chance to Legalize Marijuana in November [Re: SuperD]
#5988474 - 08/23/06 12:32 AM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
lets see what happens in november.
--------------------
|
|