The Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce is backing down from efforts to place on the ballot an initiative to ban medical marijuana dispensaries in the city.
The chamber's governmental affairs advisory board voted 5-4 Friday to recommend that the chamber stay out of promoting the initiative and put on educational forums instead, especially since a group of Springs residents is already leading the charge.
"Don't let me give you any indication that they don't believe (this issue) has a lot of implications for our community. They just felt like others had taken on the mantle," Stephannie Finley, president of the chamber's Governmental Affairs Division, said today.
"They also felt like we needed to be careful about our resources and the political capital that's expended for different issues. We have a whole lot in front of us, including some November ballot initiatives that are pretty harmful to the business climate," she said, referring to Amendment 60, Amendment 61 and Proposition 101.
Only a few weeks ago, the chamber's Ernest House encouraged the City Council to refer an initiative to the ballot to let voters decide whether dispensaries should be banned.
The chamber's position created a huge firestorm, Finley said.
"This has been one of the most convoluted issues I've dealt with since getting here," she said.
On Friday, the advisory board met to determine what role the chamber should have in getting an initiative on the ballot to ban dispensaries. People on both sides of the issue spoke at the meeting.
"It was a wild meeting," Finley said. "This topic incites a lot of passion on both sides. It incites a lot of passion within our membership, too, and that's why we even took on the issue in the first place."
The advisory board's recommendation will go to the chamber's Board of Directors at a later date, Finley said.
If the group trying to get the initiative on the ballot succeeds, the Board of Directors would take a formal position, she said.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Colorado Springs Gazette
Author: DANIEL CHACÓN
Contact: Colorado Springs Gazette
Copyright: 2010 Freedom Communications
Website: Chamber backs off marijuana ballot proposal
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
The chamber's governmental affairs advisory board voted 5-4 Friday to recommend that the chamber stay out of promoting the initiative and put on educational forums instead, especially since a group of Springs residents is already leading the charge.
"Don't let me give you any indication that they don't believe (this issue) has a lot of implications for our community. They just felt like others had taken on the mantle," Stephannie Finley, president of the chamber's Governmental Affairs Division, said today.
"They also felt like we needed to be careful about our resources and the political capital that's expended for different issues. We have a whole lot in front of us, including some November ballot initiatives that are pretty harmful to the business climate," she said, referring to Amendment 60, Amendment 61 and Proposition 101.
Only a few weeks ago, the chamber's Ernest House encouraged the City Council to refer an initiative to the ballot to let voters decide whether dispensaries should be banned.
The chamber's position created a huge firestorm, Finley said.
"This has been one of the most convoluted issues I've dealt with since getting here," she said.
On Friday, the advisory board met to determine what role the chamber should have in getting an initiative on the ballot to ban dispensaries. People on both sides of the issue spoke at the meeting.
"It was a wild meeting," Finley said. "This topic incites a lot of passion on both sides. It incites a lot of passion within our membership, too, and that's why we even took on the issue in the first place."
The advisory board's recommendation will go to the chamber's Board of Directors at a later date, Finley said.
If the group trying to get the initiative on the ballot succeeds, the Board of Directors would take a formal position, she said.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Colorado Springs Gazette
Author: DANIEL CHACÓN
Contact: Colorado Springs Gazette
Copyright: 2010 Freedom Communications
Website: Chamber backs off marijuana ballot proposal
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
