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44: Legalization bid falls flat
Most Colorado voters just said "no" Tuesday to legalizing small amounts of marijuana for recreational use.
Under Amendment 44, adults ages 21 and older would have been allowed to possess and use up to an ounce of marijuana without facing a $100 fine.
Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation, or SAFER, launched the statewide campaign to legalize pot after a successful initiative in Denver last year.
Although the Denver measure made pot technically legal in the city, Denver police are using state law to continue to fine people $100 who are caught with marijuana.
The only Coloradans currently allowed to possess up to an ounce of marijuana are those who need it for medicinal purposes, which would be a tough battle to change "75 years of marijuana prohibition overnight.
"It's quite clear that a number of people in Colorado are in agreement that marijuana prohibition is not working," Tvert said. "We think this is the first step in a 5- to 10-year process."
SAFER dropped $60,000 into the campaign, and Tvert said he sees the money as well-spent because Coloradans began to have a conversation about whether marijuana should be legalized.
"It's not an issue that is going away," he said. "There is a big effort to change these laws."
Amendment 44 opponents were pleased Tuesday that the initiative failed, saying legalization would increase teen drug use.
"I think the people of Colorado have spoken," said Beverly Kinard, founder of Guarding Our Children Against Marijuana. "They care about Colorado, they care about the families of Colorado and they are taking a stand against the drug movement."
Kinard said if another effort is made to legalize any drugs in Colorado, her group will continue to fight it.
By Felisa Cardona
Denver Post Staff Writer
Most Colorado voters just said "no" Tuesday to legalizing small amounts of marijuana for recreational use.
Under Amendment 44, adults ages 21 and older would have been allowed to possess and use up to an ounce of marijuana without facing a $100 fine.
Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation, or SAFER, launched the statewide campaign to legalize pot after a successful initiative in Denver last year.
Although the Denver measure made pot technically legal in the city, Denver police are using state law to continue to fine people $100 who are caught with marijuana.
The only Coloradans currently allowed to possess up to an ounce of marijuana are those who need it for medicinal purposes, which would be a tough battle to change "75 years of marijuana prohibition overnight.
"It's quite clear that a number of people in Colorado are in agreement that marijuana prohibition is not working," Tvert said. "We think this is the first step in a 5- to 10-year process."
SAFER dropped $60,000 into the campaign, and Tvert said he sees the money as well-spent because Coloradans began to have a conversation about whether marijuana should be legalized.
"It's not an issue that is going away," he said. "There is a big effort to change these laws."
Amendment 44 opponents were pleased Tuesday that the initiative failed, saying legalization would increase teen drug use.
"I think the people of Colorado have spoken," said Beverly Kinard, founder of Guarding Our Children Against Marijuana. "They care about Colorado, they care about the families of Colorado and they are taking a stand against the drug movement."
Kinard said if another effort is made to legalize any drugs in Colorado, her group will continue to fight it.
By Felisa Cardona
Denver Post Staff Writer
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