Politics Add Denver to the List
posted by on November 7 at 7:45 AM
Last night voters in the Mile High City gave the thumbs up to Question 100 – with 55.5 percent of the vote – making marijuana possession Denver’s lowest law-enforcement priority.
Q-100 is closely modeled after Seattle’s Initiative 75. Since I-75 passed in 2003, word of it reducing arrests sparked a series of similar proposals in cities around the country, including Oakland, San Francisco, Missoula, three cities in California that begin with “Santa,” and Eureka Spring, Arkansas. Woo, Eureka!
Marijuana offenses were stricken from Denver’s books by voters in 2005, but under state law prosecutions continued—they actually increased. The group behind both initiatives, SAFER, hopes this measure will actually keep pot smokers out of jail. If enough cities pass stopgap measures like these, pot activists posit, a state or two will legalize marijuana.
Hooray, Denver! Hooray, Seattle! Hooray, pot reform! This is very good news. Let the drug war die the death of a thousand little cuts!
If enough cities pass stopgap measures like these, pot activists posit, a state or two will legalize marijuana.
I thought the whole kernel of the problem with this was that there are federal marijuana laws that states/cities can't do a whole hell of a lot about.
2. States can stop pot arrests and prosecutions that aren't charged federally. And less than one percent of pot cases are charged federally--those are mostly grow operations of over 250 plants or trafficking.
So, for instance, if a state decriminalizes pot for under 40 grams, anyone who stays below that limit would be protected.
i'll smoke to that! huge congrats to SAFER for all their efforts, and for being effective while still being themselves. ;)
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