The Local newsletter is your free, daily guide to life in Colorado. For locals, by locals. Sign up today!
Many voters across Colorado have taken to the ballot box to object to the operation of medical-marijuana dispensaries in their communities, but not in conservative El Paso County. There, a proposed ban on pot businesses outside the city of Colorado Springs was narrowly defeated Tuesday. But that doesn’t mean everyone involved in the medical-marijuana industry feel safe. Jessica Corry, a Denver-based attorney who backs pro-medical-pot groups, says her clients want her to keep fighting to safeguard against any attempt to kill dispensaries in the county, via either the ballot or local officials, writes The Gazette. “Our analysis is: Will the county do this again?” Corry explains.
Meanwhile, Brian Vicente of Sensible Colorado, a pro-medical-marijuana group, is looking at the post-election landscape and considering legal action. Vicente talks to Westword about the potential cases, which could lead to a higher court that would eventually find “that bans on dispensaries are unconstitutional.” He cites a current case in Westminster as an example. As for why medical marijuana suffered so many defeats on Tuesday, Vicente speculates that younger voters tend to support the relaxing of marijuana laws, and they are just “not turning out in non-presidential elections. But at the same time, a lot of these votes are very close—which tells me we could have the momentum to win in these municipalities in the future by really mobilizing our base.”
That's only $1 per issue!
And that’s what former Boulder City Councilman and County Commissioner Paul Danish is counting on. Last night he kicked off the “Legalize 2012” campaign to fully legalize pot for recreational use. Westword was there to snap some photos.