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Buzzby

Pot Measure Put On City Ballot
Lou Kilzer | The Denver Post | 08/23/2005

Denver City Council members held their collective noses Monday and approved putting marijuana legalization on November's ballot.

The measure's backers had collected enough signatures to force the matter on the ballot - but city law still said the council had to give its approval.

Members lost no time in teeing off on the measure.

Councilwoman Jeanne Robb said smoking three marijuana joints was equal to smoking three packs of cigarettes a day. She said it also kills brain cells.

(BuzzNote: Myth #4, Myth #8)

Councilman Charlie Brown warned that political opponents would be "lower than a snake's belly" if they tried to use the vote against members. Brown and others noted that almost 99 percent of marijuana cases in Denver are prosecuted under state law. The city ordinance would not change that, they said.

If there is strong opposition to the measure, it wasn't evident at the City Council meeting Monday night. Six people asked to speak at the announced public hearing - all in favor of the legalization initiative.

Dr. Robert Melamede, former chairman of the biology department at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, said he's smoked marijuana for 41 years. He said marijuana-like chemicals occur naturally in the body and that the real thing might well save brains cells while slowing aging.

After the meeting, Melamede called some council members "flat earthers" for their alleged lack of knowledge about the substance.

The measure would legalize possession of an ounce or less of marijuana by adults.

The supporters' main argument Monday was that smoking marijuana was better than drinking alcohol.

That line of reasoning did not appear to impress council members.

Councilman Michael Hancock spoke out the loudest against the measure. He said he has seen firsthand that marijuana use leads to harder drugs and can be devastating.

(BuzzNote: Myth #13)

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SkyTripper

Even if this were to pass.....the fact that marijuana cases would still be prosecuted under state law only proves just how insignificant such a law would be.
As long as you have people who still maintain the belief that marijuana use LEADS to harder drugs and smoking a joint is equivalent to smoking a whole pack of cigarettes.....you are fighting an uphill battle on the entire issue.
I KNOW it is safer than drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes....just from first-hand experience and I also know that it, in and of itself, does NOT lead to using hard drugs. The fact that it is just as illegal as the hard drugs only subjects some users to try the others, mostly out of curiosity and most likely, at an age when experimentation with many things is more common. The EXPOSURE to those hard drugs....through marijuana's illegality IS the real reason why it could contribute to some people progressing on to other far more dangerous/addictive substances.
IF marijuana were completely legalized.....this would NOT be an issue!
Either way......its good to see that such a proposition still managed to make it on the November ballot, thus.....reflecting the overall attitude many have regarding marijuana use in general. The tide is slowly changing and more people now than ever before already KNOW that marijuana use in and of itself is NOT such a big deal.
It is progress.....to a minimal degree. Mainly because state and federal laws continue to hinder the advancement of this progress. Colorado though, does have some fairly lenient pot laws compared to other states.....as it is basically just a $100 fine if caught with it up to an ounce....or at least it is in certain cities within the state.
My question.......WHEN will a state just make it COMPLETELY LEGAL and free from ANY form of prosecution for its use and possession.....at least by adults?
NOT until Congress, the DEA, FDA anf Feds ever agree to this change.....I'm sure.
Maybe in another hundred years?

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SkyTripper

Buzzby

Cases could be prosecuted under state law. That doesn't mean they would be. Several cities have passed laws relegating marijuana enforcement to the lowest priority and effectively eliminated it.


We don't have to convince everyone, just a majority.


Alaska had it on the ballot last November, where it garnered 41% of the votes. That was without any kind of federal approval. I don't think you'll have to wait 100 years.