Marijuana legalization qualifies for Colorado ballot

[Comrade Grumpy]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/27/us-marijuana-colorado-idUSTRE81Q24S20120227

DENVER | Mon Feb 27, 2012 4:54pm EST

DENVER (Reuters) - A Colorado voter initiative that would legalize adult possession of marijuana for personal recreational use qualified on Monday for the state's November ballot, state officials said, despite staunch opposition from the federal government.

A similar measure earned a place last month on the Washington state ballot, but legalization of pot for recreational purposes was defeated by California voters in 2010.

The latest moves to decriminalize marijuana at the state level face opposition from the federal government, which still classifies pot as an illegal narcotic.

<snip>

Voters defeated a previous ballot measure to legalize pot for recreational purposes in 2006. But proponents see momentum on their side, citing an October 2011 Gallop Poll that found a record 50 percent of Americans support legalizing marijuana use, up from 36 percent five years earlier.

[Comrade Grumpy]

1. And then there were two: It's already on the ballot in Washington state.

Last edited Mon Feb 27, 2012, 07:52 PM - Edit history (1)

Signature-gathering campaigns are still going on in California, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, and Oregon.

But none of them have big bucks behind them, so their chances aren't as good.

[waddirum]

16. sometimes I think...

... that Texas is going to get MMJ and legalization before Illinois.

[mike_c]

2. I think there are something like five or six separate initiatives gathering sigs...

...here in California. This will just keep rolling over until we win.

[Comrade Grumpy]

11. Three marijuana legalization initiatives are signature-gathering...

in California, and one initiative that would impose statewide regulation on medical marijuana, which has been operating in a very hazy grey area.

But they all say they need $2 million to make it to the ballot, and no one is ponying up the big bucks.

[RKP5637]

3. K&R !!! n/t

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

4. RE: qualifies for Colorado ballot

Good. I signed that petition.

[Greywing]

8. And so did I

It's PAST darn time it be legalized ....

[sarcasmo]

15. +1

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

5. As I'm seventy years old now, I'm sure glad that I didn't wait

for fifty years of my life, begging for permission to smoke something that has been growing naturally out of the ground for untold millions of years.

[ihavenobias]

6. K & R n/t

[sarcasmo]

7. Legalize it now!

[duhneece]

10. Our arresting & incarcerating millions of Americans (esp the poor & minorities)

And the violence that is part & parcel of the US's 'War on Drugs' policies makes these ballot measures HUGE news. I like thinking of them as baby steps toward ending the war on drugs & the beginning of seriously treating drug use & abuse as public health issues, with options, education, treatment, prevention...

[Uncle Joe]

12. Good, kudos to the great states of Colorado and Washington.

Thanks for the thread, Comrade Grumpy.

[randome]

13. 50 percent support is not enough to ensure passage.

Regardless of what one thinks about recreational use, I don't think there is enough momentum to make this happen.

Just sayin'.

[Comrade Grumpy]

14. The latest Gallup poll had support at 55% in the West.

I recently saw a Washington state poll that had the initiative leading by eight points, but not above 50%. It was 47-39, I think.

These are big, well-financed pushes in Washington and Colorado, and those big money guys hate to waste their money on losing propositions. They think they can do it.

These will be very close, but approval is certainly possible in those two states this year.

[Ohio Joe]

17. I'll be voting for it

[MrMickeysMom]

18. Good...

Don't forget the speech about our forefathers, who most definitely grew hemp for all manner of commodities. I'm sure the benefit of smoking had not been over-looked.

Talk about an economic development... Jeebus, this crop would do.

[Tripod]

20. How many trillions of dollars are raised each year?

Alchol, tobacco. For the Fed, and State, and Counties. More then the taxes should posses. Two years ago it was in the USA TODAY that per household in America we owe, in debt, 500,000 dollars to others. WTF! I'm just trying to keep my lights and heat on. Sorry to my only adult child, I guess it is up to you.

[Tripod]

19. Good, I just wrote about this earlier. N/T