"I think it would depend on what we hear from people," Markert said. "If there's unanimous consensus of some sort, and the tea leaves align, there's probably no sense in wasting time and money on an election." AURORA - Aurora lawmakers could still choose to ban the commercial sale of marijuana within city limits if a proposal to legalize marijuana statewide passes, attorneys say. Brian Vicente, attorney and co-director of the campaign to support Amendment 64, said the initiative contains a provision that would allow any city or town -- even if it's not a home-rule city -- to refuse marijuana cultivation facilities and retail stores within its city limits. [continues 604 words]
Backers say THC prohibition is an expensive sham and has run its course; critics say the change is an unworkable dream that will hurt kids For the second time in six years, Colorado voters will be asked to "legalize it." If it passes, Amendment 64 would make possession of marijuana by people older than 21 legal under state law, and establish a system to tax and regulate the sale of marijuana. A caregiver picks out a marijuana bud for a patient at a marijuana dispensary in Denver on Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012. Colorado, Oregon and Washington could become the first to legalize marijuana this fall. All three state are asking voters to decide whether residents can smoke pot. The debate over how much tax money recreational marijuana laws could produce is playing an outsize role in the campaigns for and against legalization, and both sides concede they're not really sure what would happen. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski) [continues 608 words]
AURORA - Adolescents with access to medical marijuana that's prescribed to someone else tend to start smoking at a younger age and are more susceptible to abuse, dependence and symptoms of conduct disorder. That's according to a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, that looked at the use of medical marijuana by adolescents aged 14 to 18 years old. Stacy Salomonsen-Sautel, a postdoctoral fellow in the School of Medicine's Department of Pharmacology, was the lead author of the study, which also involved input from the school's Department of Psychiatry. [continues 442 words]
Another tremendously talented American who had riches and fame beyond most people's dreams has killed herself with drugs. Whitney Houston's life was wrecked and cut tragically short at 48 because she became mired in the self-destructive hell of drug use. In the late 1970s my birth brother was living in L.A. and working as a writer on "Laverne & Shirley," the number one-rated TV show in the country. It was pretty heady stuff for a 21-year-old kid from Ohio. I remember him telling me how cocaine and other drugs were becoming increasingly popular with the creative crowd in Hollywood at the time. He had more money than God and he found himself facing a tough choice: Put his money up his nose like everyone else or leave town. He chose to leave. Many other young people we know never made the right choice with drugs and their lives ended like Houston's. Sunday night at the Academy Awards, Hollywood will be handing out Oscars to its brightest stars. At some point, tears will be shed for Whitney Houston. She will be remembered, as she should be, for her great singing. But you can bet your favorite movie star's Malibu beach house that the drug lifestyle that sent Houston to an early grave will be conveniently forgotten. Instead of pretending its chronic drug problem doesn't exist, or acting like choosing drugs is simply another lifestyle choice, Hollywood needs to take a strong stand against drug use. Illegal and legal. The Academy Awards this weekend would be a good place to start doing the right thing. As an industry, Hollywood needs to start saying "No" to drugs. Baseball is saying "No." Pro football is saying "No." Cycling, for Pete's sake, is saying "No." In the '80s my stepmother Nancy was saying "No." In the '70s my 21-year-old birth brother had the sense to say "No." Isn't it time for Hollywood and the rest of the entertainment industry to clean itself up? Dr. Drew does what he can, but he can save only one celebrity drug addict at a time. [continues 259 words]
Proponents are happy that a proposed DUI law for mediclal or illicit pot smokers now has teeth in it again, but there is just too much risk that the measure could infairly bite too many. The measure by Boulder Democrat state Rep. Claire Levy seeks to set a blood-level limit for the active ingredient in marijuana, THC, that has made it so sought after by tens of thousands of Coloradans seeking relief from pain, a way to end nausea, find an appetite or just get high. Currently, the bill is suggesting that anyone driving a car with a THC blood level of 5 nanograms per milliliter of blood be considered intoxicated and charged with driving under the influence. It's much like the system used to snag drunk drivers. [continues 292 words]
Now that Colorado is all grown up about how it's handling the medical marijuana issue, it's obvious it will years before the smoke clears on how to handle laws prohibiting intoxicated drivers from getting behind the wheel. This is tough stuff. Who knew when Colorado voters signed onto making the state one of the first to allow for the medicinal use of marijuana that it would come to House Bill 1261? That measure by Boulder Democrat state Rep. Claire Levy seeks to set a blood-level limit for the active ingredient in marijuana, THC, that has made it so sought after by tens of thousands of Coloradans seeking relief from pain, a way to end nausea, find an appetite or just get high. Currently, the bill is suggesting that anyone driving a car with a THC blood level of 5 nanograms per milliliter of blood be considered intoxicated and charged with driving under the influence. It's much like the system used to snag drunk drivers. [continues 250 words]
AURORA - An Aurora doctor accused of doling out bogus medical marijuana recommendations pleaded not guilty this week, setting up a four-day jury trial in August. Manuel Aquino-Villaman, 70, entered the plea during an arraignment Monday afternoon in Arapahoe County District Court. According to an arrest affidavit filed against Aquino-Villaman, two separate Aurora police officers went to his office undercover to obtain medical marijuana recommendations, the first in February 2010 and the second in April 2010. In the first visit, the officer told Aquino-Villaman he was in a motorcycle accident 10 years ago and had two metal plates inserted in his head because of injuries from the crash. [continues 289 words]
Americans have bought themselves a trillion dollars worth of nothing over the past few decades. An Associated Press story this week pointed out that the disastrously expensive and ineffective war on drugs has been one of the biggest losing battles in American history. The story estimates that the country has thrown away an impossible amount of money in trying to keep drugs from being imported into the country, and to prevent Americans from using them, only to bolster a pricey criminal justice system that promises to cost U.S. taxpayers even more. [continues 371 words]
AURORA - An Aurora doctor arrested last summer and accused of doling out bogus medical marijuana recommendations can no longer practice medicine amid new accusations he recommended pot for a pregnant woman. The Colorado Medical Board last month suspended Manuel Aquino-Villaman's medical license pending the outcome of an investigation into allegations he recommended medical marijuana for a pregnant woman. The new accusations against Aquino-Villaman were first reported on the Solutions health policy analysis website, a product of the University of Colorado School of Public Affairs. [continues 201 words]
AURORA | Regulations for medical marijuana home grow operations and an ordinance to ban medical marijuana dispensaries within the city will be voted on by the Aurora City Council at their next council meeting on Dec. 6. Council members decided to move forward with the medical marijuana items at their regularly scheduled study session meeting Monday night. The regulations regarding home grow operations, which were put forth by council's Neighborhood Services Policy Committee, state that marijuana plants should be grown within a licensed patient's primary residence or a caregiver's primary residence, and they should only be used by the patient to alleviate symptoms of a debilitating medical condition. [continues 218 words]
AURORA | Medical marijuana dispensaries will not be springing up in Aurora anytime soon. The final tallies for Arapahoe, Adams and Douglas counties show that voters in Aurora decided to prohibit dispensaries within city limits by a margin of 42,347 to 39,224. The outcome is disappointing for medical marijuana advocates who say patients should have easy access to dispensaries in each city. But for others, it is a relief that dispensaries will not be cropping up near their homes. Aurora resident Dan Bloom voted to prohibit dispensaries because he said there is so much uncertainty about them. [continues 678 words]
While a proposal to track medical marijuana sales is far from being the unreasonable intrusion critics are making it out to be, the notion certainly points out how arcane the country's anti-marijuana laws are. An Associated Press story on Wednesday spelled out how state officials hope to monitor who's buying medical marijuana and just how much. Some officials say they believe that some patients are buying up large quantities of pot and then selling it on the black market. [continues 381 words]
The fate of a Highlands Ranch man accused of illegally growing marijuana inside his house weighs heavily on all Colorado residents. You might not know Christopher Bartkowicz by name, but you almost certainly know his predicament. He's the man who got in front of Channel 9 News cameras in February and bragged all about how happy he was to be growing medical marijuana in a state that allowed such a thing. Days later, federal drug agents arrested him and asked that felony federal drug charges be filed against him. [continues 617 words]
AURORA | Medical marijuana should be grown in a defined, 180-square-foot area within a single-family home, and it should be grown by a licensed medical marijuana patient, suggested the city's Medical Marijuana Task Force Sept. 15. The Medical Marijuana Task Force proposed two ordinances governing medical marijuana home grow operations at the Neighborhood Services Committee meeting. Committee members recommended the ordinances be combined into one, and further discussion about the "hybrid" ordinance will occur at the October committee meeting. [continues 624 words]
AURORA | How much is too much when it comes to medical marijuana? Members of the Aurora City Council Neighborhood Services Policy Committee suggested preliminary rules to help solve questions of home-grow operations during an Aug. 19 meeting. The city's Medical Marijuana Task Force solicited help from medical marijuana advocate Timothy Tipton earlier this month to develop regulations that could be imposed on Aurora home-grow operations. Medical marijuana operations in homes should be restricted to 80 square feet, according to one suggestion by Tipton, cofounder of the Rocky Mountain Caregivers Cooperative. Tipton says 80 square feet is an appropriate limitation in which marijuana plants could be cultivated successfully. [continues 586 words]
Prosecutors Will Seek Marijuana Distribution Charge Against Dr. Manuel Aquino-Villaman AURORA - Reversing a previous decision, Arapahoe County prosecutors now say they will file a marijuana distribution charge against an Aurora doctor accused of doling out bogus medical marijuana recommendations. District Attorney Carol Chambers said in an interview Wednesday that her prosecutors planned to charge Dr. Manuel Aquino-Villaman with conspiracy to distribute marijuana in addition to two other charges filed against the doctor last month. Aquino-Villaman was arrested in early July after police say he gave medical marijuana recommendations to two undercover police officers who shouldn't have qualified. [continues 506 words]
AURORA | Fluorescent lights glow all night long in the house next door to Tracy Smith, accompanied by loud fans. At first, she couldn't figure out what they were being used for, but then the musky smell of marijuana tipped her off. Smith, who didn't want her real name published in the newspaper because she is fearful of backlash from her neighbors, has been living next to a medical marijuana home grow operation in Aurora for several months. And she wants the growers out. [continues 965 words]
AURORA - A proposal to shift $1 in each violation assessed in Municipal Court from the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program to the Victim Assistant Law Enforcement Training Program will be discussed by Aurora City Council members at a Monday study session. The study session is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Aug. 23 at the Aurora Municipal Center. Members of the Public Safety and Courts Committee agreed the DARE program funding should be reduced from $5 per violation to $4 per violation and funding for the VALET program should be increased from $12 to $13 per violation to meet a growing need in the Victim Services Unit. The additional funds will be used to add one additional full time victim advocate, increasing VALET's staff to six full time employees. [continues 193 words]
AURORA | A lawsuit against a city that banned medical marijuana dispensaries could foreshadow future lawsuits against municipalities statewide, including Aurora, that try to ban dispensaries. The lawsuit was filed last week against the city of Westminster, which passed a dispensary ban in November 2009, although there were two dispensaries operating within city limits before the ban. The Westminster lawsuit is being dubbed "the test case" for cities statewide that attempt to ban dispensaries within city limits. Aurora city officials decided last month to ask voters in November whether they want to ban medical marijuana dispensaries within city limits. [continues 196 words]
AURORA | The lawyer for an Aurora doctor arrested last month amid accusations he gave out bogus medical marijuana recommendations said the doctor's only mistake was believing two undercover Aurora police officers who lied to him. Dr. Manuel Aquino-Villaman was arrested in early July after police say he gave medical marijuana recommendations to two undercover police officers who shouldn't have qualified. Robert Corry, the Denver lawyer representing Aquino-Villaman, called the case against the doctor "meritless" and said the officers - one who had plates in his head from a serious motorcycle crash - should, in fact, qualify for a medical marijuana card under Colorado law. [continues 611 words]
