Pubdate: Thu, 09 Jul 2015
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2015 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Ricardo Baca

VOTERS SUPPORT WIDER POT USE

A Poll Shows Denver Citizens Back Limited Use at Businesses.

A majority of Denver voters support an initiative that would allow 
"limited social marijuana consumption" in businesses such as bars, 
according to a poll commissioned by the group behind the proposal.

The poll results say 56 percent of likely Denver voters either 
strongly support (20 percent) or somewhat support (36 percent) the 
initiative, according to the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling.

For those against the initiative, 31 percent strongly oppose and 9 
percent somewhat oppose it, while 5 percent said they weren't sure. 
The automated telephone poll has a margin of error of 3.9 percentage points.

The pollsters asked whether voters would support allowing "the 
consumption of marijuana at private venues in Denver, provided that 
the owner of the venue permits the consumption, access to the venue 
is limited to individuals 21 years of age or older, smoking marijuana 
indoors is prohibited and any outdoor use is hidden from public view."

The initiative's primary authors are the Marijuana Policy Project's 
Mason Tvert and Brian Vicente of cannabis-focused law firm Vicente 
Sederberg. They are gathering 5,000 signatures to get the question on 
Denver's November ballot.

Another of the poll's findings - that Denver residents, by a 4-to-1 
ratio, say that alcohol causes more problems in the city than 
marijuana - also favors their side of the contentious issue.

"Denver voters have made it quite clear that they support treating 
marijuana like alcohol," said Tvert, a national pot activist and one 
of the primary authors behind Colorado's 
recreational-cannabis-legalizing Amendment 64. "Voters approved 
measures to that effect in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2012, and so it's not 
surprising that we're still seeing such strong support, even among a 
more conservative voting population in an offyear election."

Public Policy Polling conducted the survey from June 12-15 by polling 
a representative sample of 629 likely voters in Denver.

The party breakdown of active, registered voters in Denver, as of 
last month, was 48 percent Democrat, 35 percent unaffiliated and 16 
percent Republican - perhaps explaining why the poll's breakdown 
favored Democrats (60 percent) to independents (23 percent) and 
Republicans (17 percent).

In the question that asked respondents if alcohol or marijuana caused 
more problems in Denver, 55 percent said alcohol, 13 percent said 
marijuana, 26 percent said both and 6 percent weren't sure.

Long known for his marijuana-is-safer-than-alcohol mantra, Tvert 
wasn't surprised at that question's results.

"Anyone who has spent time in LoDo on a weekend evening or walked 
down Colfax Avenue on any given day knows that alcohol contributes 
far more problems and far more severe problems than marijuana," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom