This Week (So Far) in Marijuana
Coming off the Colorado Cannabis Convention over the weekend, attorney Rob Corry, a steadfast supporter of medical marijuana, debated state Attorney General John Suthers, a staunch critic of the current medical-marijuana system, at the University of Denver yesterday in what The Denver Post calls a "rhetorical cannabis cage match" watched by law students and medical marijuana supporters. The debate served to underscore increasingly entrenched divisions over the state's growing medical marijuana industry and culture, along with gray areas of the law. Meanwhile, on the University of Colorado's Boulder campus, administrators are trying to clear up some of the murky issues created by students who are licensed to use marijuana medicinally. Freshman students using medical pot are no longer required to live in dormitories their first year, reports the Daily Camera, although some students believe a better alternative would be to designate smoking areas inside the dorms. Another idea would be to move up Boulder Canyon to the tiny mountain town of Nederland, where pot smoking is now legal regardless of why it's used (via the Daily Camera). While Breckenridge allows less than one ounce of marijuana for adults, Ned has removed all criminal penalties against buying, selling, possessing, consuming, growing, and transporting marijuana for any reason by anyone age 21 or older. Of course, it remains illegal to do all of those things under state and federal laws. Marijuana advocate Mason Tvert, the founder of SAFER (Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation), points to Denver as the leader in local decriminalization efforts: "Denver's obviously the epicenter of the marijuana reform movement in Colorado---and without a doubt, we'll see more cities following the lead of Denver, Breckenridge, and, now, Nederland, in taking actions and passing local measures. They're sending a very clear message to their elected officials that it's time to reevaluate how we treat marijuana in this state and nationwide" (via Westword). Vanessa Martinez contributed to this post.
Comments
Submitted by denbee (not verified) on Fri, 2010-04-09 15:23.
The rest of us look up to the progressive men and women of your State.
How many millions of American citizens have had their futures derailed while being criminalized for using a natural botanical herb for relaxation instead of alcohol? It is as if the prohibitionist delight in forcing us to consume only what they deem is proper, even given the facts that cannabis is safer than alcohol. A majority of these same people have never even tried cannabis. They only believe and spout the reefer madness fed to them by our Government. They get to tell us how we can live and what we can consume and what we can grow...in our damn homes too! Because of the drug wars we have allowed a police State to evolve and take over America. Because of Government induced fear and panic we now think nothing of allowing the police cartels to bust down our doors, arrest and jail us, confiscate our property and money and even take our children on some occasions! For the crime of growing and consuming a plant. Notice where the loudest and staunchest opposition to cannabis legalization is coming from. The entrenched enforcement cartels. The police, prison officials, the courts, the probation system and the forced rehibilitation officials. They are all on a gravy train that has for years riden on the backs of cannabis users. We have provided the entire enforcement cartel a wonderful living standard at our expense and they are loath to surrender that. This where the voices of opposition are the loudest...we must be louder! Cannabis prohibition is much more than a futile attempt to regulate our consumption and use of cannabis. It is also about being secure in our homes and property. It is about human dignity and right to make choices in our lives based on fact and reason. It is about how much will we allow the Government into our private lives. Will they soon be telling us how many percocets we may take for any given illness or pain? Will they soon be making us register with the State what we stock our medicine cabinets with? Enough is enough! What a responsible adult chooses to do in the privacy of his home, while harming no one else and away from the children, should not be the concern of our Government. End the madness and legalize, regulate and tax what millions of Americans are already using. End the hypocricy.
