TIME TO MOVE TO DENVER PUFF PUFF PASS

[JoeyRamone 0]

DENVER LEGALIZES MARIJUANA 53% - 46%!
by CC Magazine update (01 Nov, 2005) Denver voters make adult possession of one ounce or less of marijuana legal.

Denver became the first city in the nation to make the private use of marijuana legal for adults 21 and older as an alternative to alcohol, a far more harmful drug. By 10.45 p.m. Tuesday night, with 100% of the votes tallied, the Alcohol-Marijuana Equalization Initiative had passed 53.49% YES to 46.51% NO.

The Alcohol-Marijuana Equalization Initiative is the first local measure in the nation to draw a comparison between the harms of alcohol and marijuana.

The successful I-100 campaign focused on the vast number of health, safety and social problems associated with alcohol use, promoting marijuana use to avoid the prevalence of such problems. The campaign pointed to government reports and scholarly studies that show alcohol is a contributing factor in domestic violence, sexual assaults, and other violent crimes, as well as overdose deaths, whereas the use of marijuana has never been linked to such violent behavior and there has never been a marijuana overdose death in history.


Colorado Medical Marijuana certificate
"It is time our laws reflect the facts, and it is an indisputable fact that marijuana is safer than alcohol, both to the user and to society," said Mason Tvert, executive director of SAFER and coordinator of the I-100 campaign. "Current laws accept and even encourage the use of alcohol over marijuana, thus pushing people toward using a more harmful substance. Why on earth would we prohibit an adult from making the rational, safer choice to use marijuana instead of alcohol in their own home?"

By approving the I-100, the use of marijuana in public, the use of marijuana by people under 21, driving under the influence of marijuana, and the cultivation and distribution of marijuana would all remain illegal, much like with alcohol.

Cannabis Culture will update this story as more details become available.

Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER) is a Colorado-based non-profit organization whose mission is to educate the public about the harmful consequences associated with alcohol, as compared to the safer — yet illegal — substance: marijuana.

Here is the language of the Initiative-100

Alcohol-Marijuana Equalization Initiative

WHEREAS, according to the National Institutes of Health, an average of 317 Americans die annually as the result of alcohol overdoses; and

WHEREAS, there has never been even a single fatal marijuana overdose recorded in the medical literature, as noted by the British Medical Journal in September 2003; and

WHEREAS, according to U.S. Department of Justice, “About 3 million crimes occur each year in which victims perceive the offender to have been drinking at the time of the offense. Among those victims who provided information about the offender’s use of alcohol, about 35% of the victimizations involved an offender who had been drinking”; and

WHEREAS, extensive research, documented in official reports by the British government's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs and the Canadian Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs, among others, shows that -- unlike alcohol -- marijuana use is not generally a cause of violence or aggressive behavior and in fact tends to reduce violence and aggression;

WHEREAS, it is the intent of this ordinance to have the private adult use and possession of marijuana treated in the same manner as the private adult use and possession of alcohol;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF DENVER

________________________________________________________________________

TEXT OF PROPOSED INITIATIVE
(proposed addition in all caps, underlined)

Amend Art. 5, Div. 3, Sec. 38-175 (Revised Municipal Code)

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person UNDER THE AGE OF TWENTY-ONE (21) to possess one (1) ounce or less of marihuana. If such person is under the age of eighteen (18) years of age at the time of the offense, no jail sentence shall be imposed and any fine imposed may be supplanted by treatment as required by the court.

[markd_nscr986 0]

Great.......

That's all we need.........more stoners moving here

Marc SCR 6046 SCS 3004

[ReBirth 0]

About time people started waking up. Alcohol is much more problematic. Legalization or even just decriminalization of marijuana would NOT lead to harder drugs, but would rather lead to LESS alcohol use.

The feds are going to freak though.

[JoeyRamone 0]

I would rather hang with a bunch of stoners then a bunch of drunks any day.

[markd_nscr986 0]

Plus............

With the ongoing continued use of cannabis..........

You get the added incentive of growing larger man boobs

Marc SCR 6046 SCS 3004

[ReBirth 0]

Want to do a calorie comparison between beer and pot?

[flyangel2 2]

I listened to a talk show on the radio the other day about this whole issue. I only got parts, but they were saying some thing about the Fed government over rules the state, and you could still get busted for having marijuana.

Again, I only got parts of the show, but I would suggest making sure you knew how the law stands up before lighting up in public.

IMO, I think it should be legal every where.

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey

[CanuckInUSA 0]

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IMO, I think it should be legal every where.

Looks like I chose the wrong time to leave CO (of course anytime is the wrong time to leave that beautiful state). Anyway, casual pot usage is not to be feared. People who smoke are less likely to do harm than those who abuse alcohol. But prolonged usage does damage people, makes them lazy and less intelligent. But one thing that everyone needs to be carefuly of is that this casual usage doesn't turn to harder drugs such as Meth. There are a lot crack-heads here in the Vancouver BC area who've destroyed their lives and because of this, there is a lot of property crime in the area and well a lot of organized crime as well. So the good people of Denver better make sure that their acceptance of pot doesn't lead to more harmful drugs such as meth.

Also, people who drive while stoned are still intoxicated and in many cases shouldn't be behind the wheel. But the funny phenominom (sp?) in all of this is that the stoned driver slows down whereas the drunk driver speeds up. Now the slow driver can be just as dangerous as the fast driver because the slow driver causes others to get impatient and angry and the impatient and angry drivers then speed up. But I'll take the stoned driver over the drunk driver any day.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[ViperPilot 0]

It's only a city law, and state law supercedes city law. Thus, it's merely setting a precendence and really does nothing at all for the time being. Until the state of CO legalizes pot, the city law has no weight.

[flyangel2 2]

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It's only a city law, and state law supercedes city law. Thus, it's merely setting a precendence and really does nothing at all for the time being. Until the state of CO legalizes pot, the city law has no weight.

Yea, that's what I was trying to say in my post

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey

[Hazarrd 1]

my understanding is that if you are stopped by a city police officer, you are OK, however, if by a state officer, you will be charged. anyone know what the deal is for sure?

.-.

[mnealtx 0]

I wouldn't count on it, if I were you!! Like they stated above, state law trumps city law...

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[ViperPilot 0]

Yeah, I wasn't sure, so thought I'd be cool and state my superior knowledge on our system of law

[JoeyRamone 0]

Well this is a step in the right direction, my opinion.

[Rookie120 0]

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Well this is a step in the right direction, my opinion.

Why is that? What would be so great about legalizing marijuana?

If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck!

[freethefly 6]

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Well this is a step in the right direction, my opinion.

Why is that? What would be so great about legalizing marijuana?

The economic boom for one thing. Lessening the burden on the court system. Alowing otherwise responsiable and law abiding adults the freedom of choice without fear of incarceration. Allowing those in need of the medical mj to obtain without relying on a blackmarket. Legalization will also wreak havoc on the blackmarket of mj, thus making it less profitable for dealers and more for the state and city if a system to tax was imposed. Legalization will also free the police to focus on more pressing issues. It is my understanding, from what I hear from my nephew whom is a police officer, that most cops really hate having to arrest for pot and view it as a waste of time to do so when they should be looking for more serious offenders instead of filling out paperwork for a bag of grass. I think the list of why it is in the interest of this nation and the world to allow, across the board, the legalization of mj, goes on and on. Economics, medical, biofuels, food, fiber, enviromental... Just google the reasons or go to www.norml.org.

"...And once you're gone, you can't come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black."
Neil Young

[mnealtx 0]

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Well this is a step in the right direction, my opinion.

Why is that? What would be so great about legalizing marijuana?

Off the top of my head:

Removes a whole bunch of "white-collar" crimes

Simplifies the legal code

Provides a possible revenue stream for the city (sales/taxes, etc.)

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[mnealtx 0]

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or go to www.norml.org.

Um, yeah...you *may* not want to do that from a work computer....

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[JoeyRamone 0]

Thanks for the answers some people just to not understand what drugs do and how we can take the burden out of allot of the crime and by taxing the pot or what ever it is.

Rookie-Ya lets keep the drunks around, when was the last time a person smoking pot killed a family on the road? How many drunk drivers killed people last night?

It would also help a ton of cancer patience's as well with the pain of dying, being able to hold down food and after a big fat bong hit they can eat some food as well. you would be amazed at who smokes pot, I know judges, lawyers and doctors who get high

[waltappel 1]

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I would rather hang with a bunch of stoners then a bunch of drunks any day.

Me too. Stoners are more laid back, quieter, and much less prone to violent behavior.

My real preference is for hanging out with people that are somewhere in the middle, though. Hanging out with people who are stoned or drunk can be pretty boring for someone who isn't.

Walt

[freethefly 6]

My real preference is for hanging out with people that are somewhere in the middle, though. Hanging out with people who are stoned or drunk can be pretty boring for someone who isn't.

Walt

[waltappel 1]

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I can never tell for sure if someone has been smoking and I have smoked since 73. I can usually tell if someone has been drinking however...

No insult intended, but that may be evidence that smoking weed has dulled your perceptions. I don't smoke weed and I doubt that I could tell for sure if someone is stoned, but since you do smoke and can't tell for sure, it makes me wonder. As I said, though, I mean absolutely no insult by this.

I think weed should be legalized. For that matter, I would much rather see all drugs legalized than see the "War on Drugs" continued. I consider the "War on Drugs" to be a war against the American people.

Doesn't mean that I think drugs are a good thing--I don't--but putting people in prison is not the answer.

Anyway, enjoy your smoke. It's far better than being an alcoholic.

Walt

[freethefly 6]

None taken there, Walt. There are some people whom it is always obvious that they have just smoked. Amatures. Yet, I have known some people and have worked with others and was real surprised to found out they smoked and did so ofton. Some of these people are the last you would expect to be smokers. Highly professional and intelligent. Pot just does not whack the mass majority into a stupor after smoking. The average person who smokes goes about their day as one normally does, only they have a nice glow going on. Maybe, it's that illegal smile, that last a good while that gives them away

"...And once you're gone, you can't come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black."
Neil Young

[Rookie120 0]

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Lessening the burden on the court system

So your idea to lighten the court load is to legalize something that is illegal?

If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck!

[ViperPilot 0]

Sure, why not have more stoner kids who will be lazier than they were before, who won't get jobs they could have gotten otherwise, who very well may flush a future down the toilet they could have had? It makes total sense to make pot more easily available to kids! Why not!?