Pubdate: Fri, 01 Aug 2014
Source: Steamboat Today, The (CO)
Copyright: 2014 Rob Douglas
Contact: http://www.steamboattoday.com/submit/letters/
Website: http://www.steamboattoday.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1549
Author: Rob Douglas

STEAMBOAT: A PETRI DISH FOR LEGAL POT

Six months after the sale of recreational marijuana became legal under
Colorado law, newspapers across the country are filled with reports
and editorials debating the merits of that voter mandated change.
Meanwhile, the best petri dish for evaluating the impact of legal pot
may be Steamboat Springs.

On Saturday, The Washington Post examined the ramifications of
Colorado's legal marijuana on neighboring states. "At Colorado's
borders, a dividing line over marijuana," is composed of anecdotal
reports from towns on both sides of Colorado's eastern border with
Kansas and Nebraska and, as might be expected, finds divergent views
between the states.

"State lines can be symbols of divisions over values and cultures.
Abortions were once legal in some states but not in others. Fireworks
are okay on one side of some state borders but verboten just a mile
away. Laws governing liquor sales vary widely by state. So it should
be no shock that as attitudes toward marijuana have shifted, fault
lines have appeared along state boundaries."

On Sunday, The New York Times initiated a series of articles about
marijuana with an editorial calling on the federal government to
"repeal the ban on marijuana" in order to "put decisions on whether to
allow recreational or medicinal production and use where it belongs --
at the state level."

While noting that The Times' Editorial Board "considered whether it
would be best for Washington to hold back while the states continued
experimenting with legalizing medicinal uses of marijuana, reducing
penalties, or even simply legalizing all use," the editorial argues
the harm to social justice outweighs continued delay of federal
legalization.

"The social costs of the marijuana laws are vast. There were 658,000
arrests for marijuana possession in 2012, according to F.B.I. figures,
compared with 256,000 for cocaine, heroin and their derivatives. Even
worse, the result is racist, falling disproportionately on young black
men, ruining their lives and creating new generations of career criminals."

A few days later, The Denver Post Editorial Board used The Times
editorial as a springboard to ask by way of headline, "Has pot reached
a tipping point in the U.S.?"

After contending that state governors and U.S. senators who are
unanimous in their opposition to legalized pot will eventually bend to
the will of the growing majority of citizens who favor legalization,
and agreeing with The Times' opinion that the federal government
should repeal its ban on marijuana, the editorial concludes:

"The nation is undergoing a monumental shift in the way its
policymakers think about and deal with marijuana, and it's time to let
the people of each state craft policy that is best-suited to their own
concerns."

Meanwhile, the best argument for why the U.S. government should drop
marijuana from the federal criminal code, thereby completely freeing
state and local lawmakers to craft laws that reflect the mores of
their communities, can be found in Steamboat.

On Wednesday, in "Pot sales 'low impact': 6 months into rollout of
recreational marijuana, officials say it's a 'non-issue,'" the
Steamboat Today reported the views of key players when it comes to the
effect legalized marijuana has had on the city. The statements of two
community leaders are noteworthy as they would speak out if they
thought legalized marijuana was harming the social or economic fabric
of Steamboat.

When it comes to crime, Steamboat Springs Police Chief Joel Rae told
the newspaper, "I think it has been relatively low impact."

And Steamboat Springs Chamber Resort Association CEO Tom Kern said in
a prepared statement, "The recreational sale of marijuana has been a
non-issue in the business community. Steamboat's two dispensaries are
great Chamber members -- supportive and very involved. Just like any
other retail business, recreational marijuana has provided sales tax
dollars to our city and state."

Steamboat's experience with legalized marijuana is still in its
developing stages. But given the unique nature of Steamboat -- a
small, geographically isolated community that is governed by part-time
citizen legislators -- it may be the best community in the nation to
study legalized marijuana's impact in the coming years.

For now, residents of Steamboat should be proud that the Steamboat
Springs City Council and city officials have worked in tandem with
local marijuana entrepreneurs to make legalized marijuana a success.  
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D