Pubdate: Sun, 25 Nov 2012
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2012 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: John Ingold

CANNABIS MANDATE FUELS DEBATE

Some Activists Favor an Aggressive Approach to Build on Their 
Victory, While Others Say Caution Is Needed.

At a recent forum, advocates talked about whether the movement should 
continue to step lightly in Colorado politics - being accommodating 
toward law enforcement and welcoming of strict regulations - or act 
like a political powerhouse whose measure garnered more votes than 
any presidential, gubernatorial or U.S. Senate candidate has ever 
received in Colorado.

"We have a mandate," said attorney Christian Sederberg, one of the 
legalization campaign's chief organizers. "We need to lead, and we 
need to flex that muscle - with deference to certain things."

It is a classic political dilemma: If election wins can be said to 
grant political capital, how, then, is it best spent?

That is new territory for marijuana-legalization supporters, who have 
never before won such widespread support for such widespread change. 
Amendment 64, the initiative that legalized limited possession and 
retail sales of marijuana in Colorado, passed in 34 of the state's 64 
counties. It won in liberal Denver by more than 90,000 votes and in 
conservative El Paso County by 10 votes.

Statewide, 1.36 million voters cast their ballot for the amendment.

Buoyed by those figures, lawyer Rob Corry said he believes activists 
should move aggressively to implement Amendment 64 to what he says is 
its full extent.

"This is a lot better than it was even advertised," Corry said at the 
forum, attended by medical-marijuana business owners interested in 
transferring to the recreational market.

For instance, the measure gives individuals the constitutional right 
to grow up to six marijuana plants and keep all of the harvest from 
those plants without fear of state prosecution. There are no limits 
on how big the plants can be, Corry said. The measure also allows 
people to join together to grow marijuana - meaning people could form 
large-scale cooperatives that produce marijuana by the pound without 
needing a license so long as none of the marijuana is sold, Corry said.

And, because the measure prohibits marijuana use only that is done 
"openly and publicly or in a manner that endangers others," Corry 
said private businesses will be able to allow marijuana smoking on site.

"You can have an Amsterdam-style private coffee shop," Corry said at 
Tuesday's forum.

Corry's enthusiasm, though, was tempered by others at the forum, who 
cautioned that implementing marijuana legalization too brazenly could 
cause a backlash.

"That's the riskiest place you can be," lawyer Sean McAllister said 
of Corry's vision for Colorado's cannabis future.

"Part of what's going to allow this system to go forward is 
responsible behavior. While I want you to be aggressive and 
assertive, you also have to be responsible."

Of particular concern is the response of the federal government, 
which considers marijuana illegal. Mike Elliott, a medical-marijuana 
advocate, said the new recreational-marijuana businesses and groups 
will need to show they can be good citizens to keep the federal 
government from crushing the whole system.

"We do need to distinguish between what is right and what is smart," 
Elliott said.

But Sederberg said activists shouldn't be concerned about pleasing 
the feds. Regulations should instead focus on helping marijuana 
businesses fit in with their communities.

"We cannot give up what we won," Sederberg said. "We cannot kowtow 
and lose what we got because we're afraid of federal intervention. .. 
They have the upper hand from the legal perspective. But we have the 
momentum, the spirit and the people behind us."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom