Pubdate: Sat, 27 Oct 2012
Source: Steamboat Today, The (CO)
Copyright: 2012 The Steamboat Pilot & Today
Contact: http://www.steamboattoday.com/submit/letters/
Website: http://www.steamboattoday.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1549
Author: Betty Aldworth
Note: Aldworth is the advocacy director for the Campaign to Regulate 
Marijuana Like Alcohol.

COLORADO CAN LEAD ON SENSIBLE MARIJUANA REGULATION

In 1932, Colorado voters passed a constitutional amendment to 
overturn the failed experiment of alcohol prohibition. This fall, 
Colorado voters will vote on a similar amendment which will end the 
similarly irrational policy of adult marijuana prohibition.

The similarities between alcohol prohibition and marijuana 
prohibition are striking: Both policies were devised to control the 
behavior of adults, but neither reduced consumption of marijuana nor 
alcohol. In both cases, prohibition has enriched cartels, empowered 
gangs and made criminals out of otherwise law-abiding adults.

There is no arguing whether limited law enforcement resources would 
be better spent combatting violence and other crimes that actually 
cause harm to others, but instead 10,000 Coloradans are arrested, 
prosecuted and burdened with criminal records each year.

In addition to wasted law enforcement resources, our state is quite 
literally throwing away tens of millions of dollars each year that 
could be collected in tax revenue. The Colorado Center on Law & 
Policy estimates that Amendment 64 could result in more than $100 
million in tax revenue annually, with the first $40 million going to 
rebuild Colorado's crumbling schools and build new schools.

Amendment 64 makes the private use and possession of limited amounts 
of marijuana legal for adults 21 and older; establishes a system in 
which marijuana is regulated and taxed similarly to alcohol; and 
allows for the cultivation, processing and distribution of industrial 
hemp. Localities will have the right to ban adult marijuana 
establishments or limit the number, and public marijuana use will 
remain illegal.

Moving the market for marijuana off the streets and behind the 
counter will allow adults to purchase this product in a strictly 
controlled fashion. Moreover, there now is evidence that regulating 
marijuana might help decrease teen usage in Colorado. Since our state 
established a tightly regulated legal medical marijuana market in 
2009, marijuana use among high school students has dropped 11 percent 
in the state, according to surveys conducted by the U.S. Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention. Nationwide, where marijuana is 
entirely unregulated, it increased 11 percent.

Colorado citizens recognize that marijuana prohibition, like alcohol 
prohibition before it, has failed, and that it is our duty as a state 
to establish a more rational and cost-effective policy. We are tired 
of Congress dictating how Colorado uses its scarce law enforcement 
resources. We are tired of Congress criminalizing adults for what 
they choose to do in the privacy of their homes. And we are tired of 
the federal government handing the exclusive market for marijuana 
sales to murderous cartels.

It is time for Colorado to lead. Let's replace the ineffective and 
wasteful policy of marijuana prohibition with a more sensible approach.

Please join me in voting "yes" on Amendment 64 to regulate marijuana 
like alcohol.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom