Pubdate: Mon, 30 Jun 2014
Source: Press, The (Millbury, OH)
Copyright: 2014 The Press
Contact:  http://www.presspublications.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2511
Author: Katie Rucke

SIX MONTHS IN, HOW HAS MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION TREATED COLORADO?

Opponents warned of increases in crime, car accidents, and drops in
tourism, but a report reveals Colorado's mostly flying high with
recreational use. By Katie Rucke  | June 30, 2014

Rachel Schaefer of Denver smokes marijuana on the official opening
night of Club 64, a marijuana-specific social club, where a New Year's
Eve party was held, in Denver, Monday Dec. 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Brennan
Linsley)

Rachel Schaefer of Denver smokes marijuana on the official opening
night of Club 64, a marijuana-specific social club, where a New Year's
Eve party was held, in Denver, Monday Dec. 31, 2012. (AP/Brennan Linsley)

July 1 marks the historic six-month anniversary since Colorado's
Amendment 64 was enacted into law, making Colorado the first place in
the world to legalize the sale of personal use marijuana for adults 21
and older.

With the six-month mark approaching, many are asking: How has
legalization gone for Colorado?

In the grand scheme of things, six months may not be much, but since
marijuana has never been legal before, many are curious how the state
has been affected, especially since opponents to marijuana
legalization warned of a host of negative consequences, such as an
increases in crime, car accidents and teenage use of marijuana, and a
decrease in tourism.

The Drug Policy Alliance released a report last week revealing that,
in fact, legalization's impact on the state has been better than many
expected.

At a press conference on Thursday, Stephen Gutwillig, deputy executive
director of the Drug Policy Alliance, said the report was released
about two weeks before Washington state begins legal sales of
marijuana for adults and about a month after Uruguay became the first
country in the world to legalize the sale and possession of marijuana.
He stressed the importance of highlighting what's happened in
Colorado, since the state is responsible for the drug law reform
momentum that has occurred.

For example, New York recently became the 23rd state, plus Washington,
D.C., to legalize medical marijuana, and two states - Alaska and
Oregon - are expected to have voter initiatives on their ballots this
fall that would legalize marijuana for adults in a manner similar to
the legislation passed in Colorado in 2012.

On the federal level, Congress has introduced legislation in recent
weeks that would force the Department of Justice and the Drug
Enforcement Administration to recognize and respect state laws, and
allow for more research on the drug's potential medical uses,
especially for conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Drug Policy Alliance and other marijuana legalization advocacy
groups recognize that it is still too early to say whether marijuana
legalization is solely responsible for the positive changes seen in
Colorado. But that hasn't stopped many from arguing that this is so,
while also noting that 54 percent of state residents still support
ending marijuana prohibition.

As Gutwillig said, it's important to keep tabs on how Colorado has
been affected - both positively and negatively - by marijuana
legalization, since lawmakers throughout the United States and the
world at large are watching the state to see if ending prohibition is
something that should be pursued in their jurisdictions.

Crime

During Thursday's press conference, Art Way, senior drug policy
manager for the Colorado chapter of the Drug Policy Alliance,
discussed legalization's impact on public health and safety, as well
as the criminal justice system, in the first six months.

While Way recognized that it's still early, he said the numbers are
positive. According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting data, the
overall crime rate in the state is down 10.1 percent from 2013, while
violent crime has decreased by 5.2 percent. The number of burglaries
at dispensaries, which are cash-only businesses, has reached a record
low.

Retired Lt. Tony Ryan worked for the Denver Police Department for 36
years and is a member of the pro-marijuana legalization group Law
Enforcement Against Prohibition since 2005. He told MintPress News
that the drop in crime reflects that the war on drugs is a great
distraction to law enforcement and disrupts officers' ability to do
their job.

Law enforcement was created to respond to calls for service from the
people they serve, Ryan said, a reason they were granted the authority
to deal with various crimes and situations, investigate incidents and
set a situation right. When a police officer has to deal with drug war
policies, however, that officer is unable to perform his regular duties.

"I used to make a joke that the highest people during a drug raid were
the cops," Ryan said.

Instead of being high on marijuana, he explained, the cops are high on
adrenaline, which is why officers often do things they later regret.
It doesn't help that law enforcement are also addicted to the "drug
war dollars" they receive from enforcing federal marijuana laws, he
noted.

According to the six-month report, counties throughout the state
issued fewer than 900 marijuana-related citations and arrests in the
first half of 2014, with Denver reporting around 260 citations or
arrests. This puts the state on track to adjudicate fewer than 3,000
marijuana-related cases in 2014, according to Way, who added that it's
a step in the right direction, since about 5,000 citations were issued
in 2013. (By comparison, between 10,000-12,000 citations were issued
every year throughout the last decade in which prohibition was in
effect in the state.)

Since law enforcement often focused on marijuana possession charges in
the past - even minor possession charges - Way said legalization has
kept thousands of Coloradans from having to deal with the judicial
system. Given that it costs around $300 to adjudicate each case - and
that's on top of the tax revenue generated by the marijuana industry -
the state could potentially save $10 to $40 million from no longer
prosecuting minor possession cases, according to the Colorado Center
of Law and Fiscal Policy.

Minor possession charges may no longer be an issue for the state, Way
said, but those who are in possession of more than 1 ounce are still
being prosecuted. Law enforcement also appears to be setting the tone
on what is acceptable use and what is not by ticketing those who use
marijuana in public with a civil fine.

Although there has been an increase in the number of public use and
consumption citations in the state, marijuana is no longer taking up a
lot of police officers' time and resources, Way said.

Even before the release of the Drug Policy Alliance report, Ryan said
the majority of law enforcement officials were in favor of
legalization, even if they didn't admit it publicly, since many
officers were frustrated by being tied up for hours with a
marijuana-related crime like possession, while someone else needed
help with something like a burglary.

While the Drug Policy Alliance report didn't look at domestic violence
rates in the state, Ryan said legalized marijuana may result in a
decline in domestic violence and other types of violent arguments
between people. Those who are typically violent after consuming
alcohol may opt to try a substance that is not known to make people
violent, Ryan continued.

As far as traffic accidents go, Way pointed out that on St. Patrick's
Day weekend in March, law enforcement ramped up efforts to curb
driving under the influence of both alcohol and marijuana. While many
may have expected more drivers to be high than drunk, Colorado police
reported 450 drivers were under the influence of alcohol, compared to
three who were under the influence of marijuana. He said similar
figures are expected for the upcoming Fourth of July holiday weekend.

Marijuana dispensaries and customers appear to be abiding by the
rules, Way said, noting that the state Department of Revenue recently
issued a report that found not one dispensary in Denver or Pueblo,
Colorado, sold marijuana to underage youth, giving the dispensaries in
those cities a 100 percent rating.

Mike Elliott, executive director of the Marijuana Industry Group, said
the decrease in crime can partly be attributed to people shedding the
"marijuana is bad, I don't want it in my community" attitude, and
instead recognizing that marijuana continues to be sold on the streets
even after 100 years of prohibition.

"Just like alcohol prohibition," Elliott said, people need to decide
whether they want someone like Al Capone selling marijuana or if they
would prefer to have the drug sold by licensed, tax-paying owners of
small businesses. "The answer is pretty obvious."

Edibles

Marijuana-related crime may not be the issue some predicted, but one
facet of legalization Colorado hadn't prepared for concerns the
regulation of edibles and informing consumers about the potency of
edibles compared to the flowering buds that would typically be smoked
or vaporized.

State Rep. Jonathan Singer was one of two state legislators to
publicly endorse Amendment 64. He said he knew it was his
responsibility to regulate and tax marijuana the right way.

"Before I was here at the capitol, I worked to protect children" as a
social worker with Child Protective Services, Singer said at
Thursday's press conference, before explaining that he realized if we
"treat marijuana like the drug it is, not the drug we fear it to be,"
we could help youth get on the right path and work to keep many teens
from dropping out of high school.

Singer said he favored marijuana legalization because he noticed that
problems with marijuana use were often overstated, while alcohol and
prescription drug abuse issues were often understated. This imbalance
was creating cognitive dissonance and other problems for teens.

Though apparently pleased with marijuana legalization in the state so
far, out of concerns with the edible market, he recently introduced
legislation that would boost regulation of the state's large edibles
market.

In the past six months, 40 percent of all personal use marijuana sales
have been edibles and concentrated forms of marijuana. But since 1
ounce of the flowering bud variety of marijuana is not as potent as 1
ounce of concentrate, Singer noted that some Coloradans have a larger
marijuana supply than the state intended, which is why lawmakers are
now working to change the rules governing edibles.

Besides possibly reducing the amount a person can have in his or her
possession when it comes to concentrates, Singer said he has
introduced a bill that would distinguish edible products from other
baked goods so that people, especially children, can tell the
difference between a Duncan Hines cookie and one infused with marijuana.

Part of the push for people to recognize and understand the difference
between cookies containing marijuana and those without, is because
edible makers don't intend for one person to eat a marijuana-infused
cookie in one sitting.

Many people didn't realize that the typical marijuana-infused cookie
contains about five servings - not one. This is why there were so many
news reports about people eating too much marijuana and not having a
good time, Singer explained.

Jordan Wellington, director of compliance at Vicente Sederberg LLC,
said people also don't know how to properly consume edibles because
unlike with alcohol, the general public has never been educated on how
to dose themselves.

Law Enforcement for Prohibition's Ryan agreed that the issue with
edibles is related to a lack of education. "You can't outlaw
stupidity," he told MintPress, applauding the state Legislature for
its work to regulate edibles more heavily.

Though some have called for prohibition to be reinstated due to the
overdose problems with edibles, especially after it was reported that
one child died of a marijuana overdose after eating a homemade
marijuana-infused brownie, Ryan explained that while there have been a
handful of instances in which a child has gotten ill from consuming
edibles, people still have poisons in their homes that have killed
other children.

"More kids are going to the hospital for household poisons than
marijuana, but you don't hear about that," Ryan said.

Economics

In the first half of 2014, Colorado's marijuana industry was
responsible for generating around $20 million in state taxes and fees.
By the end of the year, Wellington said the state estimates it will
collect $60 to $100 million in tax revenue from marijuana sales, as
well as licensing fees and application fees.

The money is primarily going to ensure that the agency responsible for
enforcing marijuana rules has the funds it needs to enforce laws and
do compliance checks, but some will also be spent on constructing
schools and creating youth and public education campaigns about
marijuana. Gov. John Hickenlooper has also proposed setting aside
around $10 million to research the medical efficacy of marijuana.

There are around 2,000 or so marijuana business licenses in the state,
and about 10,000 people are employed by the industry. In addition to
growers, budtenders and those who make smoking apparatuses, the
marijuana industry has also contributed to economic growth by creating
jobs for construction workers, electricians, plumbers, accountants,
attorneys and landlords, among others.

Though there is no way to prove that marijuana - not the snow-capped
mountains or the Denver Broncos - was ultimately responsible for the
increase in tourism the state saw in the first part of this year,
Elliott, of the Marijuana Industry Group, said the legalization of
marijuana doesn't appear to be negatively impacting people's desire to
visit the state like some opponents warned it would.

Unlike other industries, marijuana proponents across the nation,
including in Colorado, are not only asking to be taxed, but are
approving tax increases on the substance. As Elliott said, this is
because "we want to make sure sufficient tax revenue is available to
take care of issues that may arise," which is why some cities, like
Denver, have additional taxes on the drug.

"We're more than happy to pay taxes," Elliott said, explaining that
those in the marijuana industry are currently treated like drug
traffickers. Unlike other businesses, he explained, those in the
marijuana industry can not deduct items from their taxes such as rent
and payroll, which he says is typically done to promote job growth in
an industry or organization.

"It's an attempt to crush us," Elliott said, but we "don't want them
to treat us like drug cartels anymore."

While lawmakers like Singer are doing everything they can to regulate
marijuana in the state, Elliott said, a statewide solution won't fix
the problems the industry faces due to its current federal status as a
Schedule I drug. Many in the state are encouraging Congress or
President Obama to act and de-schedule marijuana, in order to truly
treat the substance in a manner similar to other de-scheduled drugs
such as alcohol and cigarettes.

"I think when it comes to the drug war, everyone agrees it has been a
failure," Elliott said. "It's obvious now we are not hurting anything"
by legalizing marijuana.

In an effort to treat marijuana-related businesses more like legal
operations, Singer is also working on legislation that would give
dispensaries access to banking and credit card processing options, so
they no longer have to operate as cash-only businesses. He said
addressing some of the flaws in the state's legalization system should
happen as soon as possible, since legalization legislation likely
won't move forward in other states if Colorado doesn't get it right.

Coloradans may be doing everything in their power to make sure that
they are not the first and last to legalize marijuana use. But as
Elliott, Gutwillig, Ryan, Singer, Way and Wellington all hinted, a
change on the federal level must occur soon, too, if the industry is
truly going to be treated as a legal operation.
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