Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
What would it take for Colorado - and the entire nation - to finally put an end to the failed war against marijuana?
It was April 18, 2009. Mere hours remained before thousands of pot enthusiasts would descend upon designated locations in Denver and Boulder to do what they'd always done each April 20. At 4:20 p.m., they'd each light up a joint.
In the meantime, I was concluding my presentation as the opening speaker to the University of Colorado at Boulder's National Forum on Marijuana.
"What will it really take?" I paused and pondered.
How simple things seemed then as we hardly dared to bet aloud that, just maybe, Colorado could really lead the nation in legalizing this curious little plant that continued to bewilder federal agents and anti-drug homeroom moms alike.
"They're laughing at us," I cautioned. It was true. Heads began nodding in agreement. This was a movement desperately in need of a public relations overhaul after nearly 60 percent of Colorado voters had defeated a measure to extend marijuana rights to non-patients six months earlier as part of the November 2008 election.
To move past - and to finally build upon - 2000's voter-approved medical marijuana experiment, we'd need to drop the peace-love-and-sativa schtick and get serious.
"Just because close to six out of 10 people voted against the [2008] initiative doesn't mean all six of those people are against us," I instructed. "It means we haven't gone out there and done our jobs. We need to lawyer up. We need to .... start playing with the big boys down at the Capitol.
Since that day, all things marijuana have melded together to become a sophisticated $300 million industry eager to crush its competitors. It's every capitalist's dream.
For each year in between 2009 and 2015, organizers say 4/20 festivities grew, substantially in some cases. Most telling was the record turnout for the 2014 collective inhale at Civic Center. Apparently, the fact that 2013's festivities were marred by gunfire just moments after the 4:20 p.m. countdown provided no deterrent value.
But then 2015 arrived, and mostly paid weekend events on April 18 and 19 drew more than 100,000 pot enthusiasts from their sold out Denver hotels. Participants engaged in marijuana-related events, concerts, competitions, forums, investor speed dates and tastings. The feeling was far more corporate than Denver had ever previously seen from the quickly corporatizing cannabis industry.
Then it got quiet. There would be no massive 4/20 countdown. No plume of pot smoke inching its way up into the atmosphere above the Capitol. In spite of reporters lining the perimeter, there was no denying it: Things were a little boring.
While organizers blame bureaucratic nonsense and mounting pressure by city officials as primary culprits behind the inability to obtain a proper event license, a lack of motivation or interest was also inevitably at play.
Media reports allege that negotiations between the city and the organizers sputtered to a halt after the city threatened to far more aggressively enforce civil and criminal sanctions against would-be violators. In prior years, this tough talk would have only inspired a larger event. This year: a quiet collapse of the rebel forces.
By the time the clock struck 4:20 p.m. on Monday, crowds in Denver's Lincoln Park had reportedly dwindled to less than 1,000. In Boulder, officials didn't even bother closing the campus as they had done in prior years.
With yesterday's protest placards now lining recycle bins across Denver, and shiny corporate logos towering above South Broadway's myriad pot shops, could it be that the pot movement is finally growing up?
The good side: The adolescent tactics, it would seem at least for now, have been thrown to the wayside. It was only a matter of time before Colorado's $300 million pot industry matured into a more sophisticated, and unapologetically protectionist, machine staffed by mainstream media strategists and litigating lawyers. (Admittedly, I have been part of this machine, though I still have disdain for the anti-competition forces who espouse to be on my team.)
Regardless of how we got here or what happens next, Colorado's role as the first state in the nation to end pot prohibition is a political game-changer. We were - and will remain - on the right side of history for this courageous use of the citizen initiative process. I have no doubt of this.
Also indisputable:The 4/20 smokeouts have always been a source of tremendous debate. I was never much of a fan. In fact, publicly smoking pot in Denver is about as daring as rushing off from happy hour with that "free" fifth glass of Pinot Grigio tucked under your arm.
Sloppy and unnecessary when you have a receipt to prove lawful purchase.
Ultimately, Colorado's leadership on marijuana reform is historic. Birthed from a delightfully imperfect citizen-led movement, the so-called "Green Rush" has injected back into the electorate a sense of confidence against the Beltway powers that be.
For now, I offer up a toast (or a toke, if you prefer) to an industry not yet fully grown and yet still singlehandedly transforming the international drug policy debate and our domestic economy in unprecedented ways. While it has not been without its bumps and bruises, I'm proud of this little square state.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Peck: Smoke clears on 4/20 festivities - The Denver Post
Author: Jessica K. Peck
Contact: Contact Us - The Denver Post
Photo Credit: Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
Website: Colorado Breaking News, Sports, Weather, Traffic, Jobs - The Denver Post
It was April 18, 2009. Mere hours remained before thousands of pot enthusiasts would descend upon designated locations in Denver and Boulder to do what they'd always done each April 20. At 4:20 p.m., they'd each light up a joint.
In the meantime, I was concluding my presentation as the opening speaker to the University of Colorado at Boulder's National Forum on Marijuana.
"What will it really take?" I paused and pondered.
How simple things seemed then as we hardly dared to bet aloud that, just maybe, Colorado could really lead the nation in legalizing this curious little plant that continued to bewilder federal agents and anti-drug homeroom moms alike.
"They're laughing at us," I cautioned. It was true. Heads began nodding in agreement. This was a movement desperately in need of a public relations overhaul after nearly 60 percent of Colorado voters had defeated a measure to extend marijuana rights to non-patients six months earlier as part of the November 2008 election.
To move past - and to finally build upon - 2000's voter-approved medical marijuana experiment, we'd need to drop the peace-love-and-sativa schtick and get serious.
"Just because close to six out of 10 people voted against the [2008] initiative doesn't mean all six of those people are against us," I instructed. "It means we haven't gone out there and done our jobs. We need to lawyer up. We need to .... start playing with the big boys down at the Capitol.
Since that day, all things marijuana have melded together to become a sophisticated $300 million industry eager to crush its competitors. It's every capitalist's dream.
For each year in between 2009 and 2015, organizers say 4/20 festivities grew, substantially in some cases. Most telling was the record turnout for the 2014 collective inhale at Civic Center. Apparently, the fact that 2013's festivities were marred by gunfire just moments after the 4:20 p.m. countdown provided no deterrent value.
But then 2015 arrived, and mostly paid weekend events on April 18 and 19 drew more than 100,000 pot enthusiasts from their sold out Denver hotels. Participants engaged in marijuana-related events, concerts, competitions, forums, investor speed dates and tastings. The feeling was far more corporate than Denver had ever previously seen from the quickly corporatizing cannabis industry.
Then it got quiet. There would be no massive 4/20 countdown. No plume of pot smoke inching its way up into the atmosphere above the Capitol. In spite of reporters lining the perimeter, there was no denying it: Things were a little boring.
While organizers blame bureaucratic nonsense and mounting pressure by city officials as primary culprits behind the inability to obtain a proper event license, a lack of motivation or interest was also inevitably at play.
Media reports allege that negotiations between the city and the organizers sputtered to a halt after the city threatened to far more aggressively enforce civil and criminal sanctions against would-be violators. In prior years, this tough talk would have only inspired a larger event. This year: a quiet collapse of the rebel forces.
By the time the clock struck 4:20 p.m. on Monday, crowds in Denver's Lincoln Park had reportedly dwindled to less than 1,000. In Boulder, officials didn't even bother closing the campus as they had done in prior years.
With yesterday's protest placards now lining recycle bins across Denver, and shiny corporate logos towering above South Broadway's myriad pot shops, could it be that the pot movement is finally growing up?
The good side: The adolescent tactics, it would seem at least for now, have been thrown to the wayside. It was only a matter of time before Colorado's $300 million pot industry matured into a more sophisticated, and unapologetically protectionist, machine staffed by mainstream media strategists and litigating lawyers. (Admittedly, I have been part of this machine, though I still have disdain for the anti-competition forces who espouse to be on my team.)
Regardless of how we got here or what happens next, Colorado's role as the first state in the nation to end pot prohibition is a political game-changer. We were - and will remain - on the right side of history for this courageous use of the citizen initiative process. I have no doubt of this.
Also indisputable:The 4/20 smokeouts have always been a source of tremendous debate. I was never much of a fan. In fact, publicly smoking pot in Denver is about as daring as rushing off from happy hour with that "free" fifth glass of Pinot Grigio tucked under your arm.
Sloppy and unnecessary when you have a receipt to prove lawful purchase.
Ultimately, Colorado's leadership on marijuana reform is historic. Birthed from a delightfully imperfect citizen-led movement, the so-called "Green Rush" has injected back into the electorate a sense of confidence against the Beltway powers that be.
For now, I offer up a toast (or a toke, if you prefer) to an industry not yet fully grown and yet still singlehandedly transforming the international drug policy debate and our domestic economy in unprecedented ways. While it has not been without its bumps and bruises, I'm proud of this little square state.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Peck: Smoke clears on 4/20 festivities - The Denver Post
Author: Jessica K. Peck
Contact: Contact Us - The Denver Post
Photo Credit: Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
Website: Colorado Breaking News, Sports, Weather, Traffic, Jobs - The Denver Post
