Pubdate: Sun, 28 Dec 2014
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2014 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: John Frank

HICKENLOOPER IS RELUCTANT MANAGER OF NEW MARIJUANA LAW

Gov. John Hickenlooper emerged as Colorado's reluctant supervisor in 
the first year of legal recreational marijuana, tasked with 
administering a law he didn't support as the state set a model for the nation.

The Democrat's difficult stance created frequent awkward moments, 
even as it helped set the tone for the state's cautious approach to 
legal pot after voters approved the 2012 ballot initiative.

The most notable came at a campaign forum in October when 
Hickenlooper made national headlines for saying Colorado voters were 
"reckless" to legalize marijuana, forcing him to walk it back and 
call it "risky" instead.

But now, outside the campaign spotlight and with a year of lessons 
learned, Hickenlooper said his stance on the issue is evolving.

"If I had a magic wand that I could have waved and reversed the 
decision of the voters ... the day after the election, I would have 
waved my wand," he said in a recent interview.

"Now, I'm not so sure," he said crediting his team with a smooth 
implementation. "It's not impossible to see that we could create a 
regulatory framework that works."

Hickenlooper pointed to reports from the left-leaning Brookings 
Institution that called the rollout "largely successful" and the 
right-leaning Cato Institute that found the law "had minimal impact 
on marijuana use and the outcomes sometimes associated with use."

Days after recreational pot became legal Jan. 1, Hickenlooper used 
his State of the State address to highlight the challenge faced by 
him and other law makers who opposed the law. "This will be one of 
the great social experiments of this century. And while not all of us 
chose it, being first means we all share a responsibility to do it 
properly," he said.

At a National Governors Association meeting a month later, 
Hickenlooper said at least a half-dozen governors approached him with 
questions about Colorado's new law.

He urged caution- a line he still repeats when asked. "What I say is 
you should wait a couple years," Hickenlooper told CNN after the 
November election. "I don't think any state should do it just for tax 
revenues or that kind of revenue decision. Let's see what the 
unintended conflicts are and whether they can really diminish to a 
point where this new system makes sense for everyone."

A poll months into the new law's tenure showed more than half of 
Coloradans approved of the way Hickenlooper was directing marijuana 
policy, a figure that broke down along mostly partisan lines just 
like marijuana legalization. A new Denver Post poll shows respondents 
mostly approve of the state's administration of marijuana legalization.

"I think he's done what many of us did," said state Sen. Cheri Jahn, 
a Wheat Ridge Democrat who served on a task force studying marijuana 
regulations. "It really doesn't matter what you think of it-the 
voters voted for it."

State Rep. Tim Dore, an Elizabeth Republican who served on a 
marijuana committee, said he wanted to see Hickenlooper take a 
stronger stance against the ballot measure, as well as take a more 
definitive position on how to implement the regulations. "I am a 
little disappointed the governor's office didn't provide more 
leadership on issues like this," he said.

Even though Hickenlooper isn't a fan, the marijuana industry doesn't 
consider him an opponent. They even held a fundraiser for his 
reelection campaign.

"We don't need true believers," said Michael Elliott, the director of 
the Marijuana Industry Group, a Denver-based lobbying organization 
for dispensaries. "We need people who are going to make this program 
work. That's been the governor. He's done a really good job of making 
this program work." Still, the pitfalls remain. The issue of how to 
label edibles and keep them from children ensnared Hickenlooper in 
controversy in October when the state Department of Public Health and 
Environment recommended a ban on the sales of nearly all marijuana 
edibles, only to have the governor distance himself. The health 
department had to issue a statement saying the proposal was intended 
for discussion and it wasn't reviewed by the governor's office.

Not all efforts met with acceptance. An advertising firm hired by the 
governor's office to help convince kids not to use marijuana was 
panned. The "Don't Be a Lab Rat" effort that featured oversized rat 
cages and strongly worded messages came under harsh criticism when it 
debuted in August, and at least one school district rejected the 
campaign. Colorado health officials, however, believe the 
conversation around the effort helped make it a success.

In an interview, Hickenlooper said one of his biggest concerns about 
marijuana is the unknowns about the potential health effects and 
"negative unintended consequences," particularly for children.

"The costs are dramatic once a kid slides off the tracks," he said. 
"They stop going to school, and they start hanging out in their 
parents' basement. They eventually run away. The cost of getting 
those kids reconnected to constructive lives is very, very significant."

Here's the message Hickenlooper says he doesn't want children to take 
away from Colorado's move: "They think it's safe for them because 
it's been legalized by adults."

Staff writer Joey Bunch contributed to this report.
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