Marijuana amendment goes up in smoke

David Montero, Rocky Mountain News

Published November 8, 2006 at midnight

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Colorado voters snuffed out a ballot measure seeking to legalize possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for those 21 and older, according to a projection by the Rocky Mountain News.

Amendment 44 would have made Colorado the first state to legalize marijuana use for recreational purposes. Previously, several states - including Colorado - passed medical marijuana initiatives that allowed for the distribution of the drug for those battling illness.

Colorado was one of two states considering a recreational use provision regarding pot this election. The other state was Nevada.

But many voters stood in the way.

Barbara Reed, a 65-year-old retiree who lives in Denver, voted against the amendment, saying "we have enough that’s legal. I’ve known people who have used drugs, and it started with marijuana."

Even if it had passed, Amendment 44 wouldn’t technically have made pot smoking legal in Colorado. It is still a violation of federal drug laws - though federal drug enforcement officials have said publicly they will not actively seek to arrest, try and convict users in possession of an ounce or less.

Mason Tvert, campaign manager for Amendment 44, said he believed the success of Denver’s passage of an initiative seeking to legalize pot possession last year signaled the mood of citizens of the state. But voters didn't back the statewide initiative.

"I wish I knew (why it failed). I think years of marijuana prohibition happened and people have heard half-truths about it all their lives," Tvert said. "Now we're seeing in several counties a majority of people who want to change marijuana laws."

"Our goal is about changing people, not laws."

He said he sees legalization happening in "five to 10 years perhaps." He said he's not sure what his next step is, but he did say, "I do live in Colorado and I'd like ot see the laws change where I live."

"Why shouldn’t adults over the age of 21 be able to make a safer choice by choosing to smoke marijuana instead of consuming alcohol?" he asked.

"That’s all we’re trying to accomplish - to give adults the right to make a safer choice."

Some voters supported the move.

"It should be a non-issue," said Quentin Schermerhorn, 23, a Democrat who voted at the Colorado Convention Center. "Any war on drugs should be done on other substances instead of marijuana."

The campaign has been opposed largely by Save Our Society from Drugs. Its Colorado-based spokesman, Robert McGuire, said the Amendment 44 campaign is simply trying to use Colorado as the first step toward legalizing all drugs nationally.

He said he thought that voters would "see through" the pro-pot agenda and would defeat the statewide ballot measure.

"People are smart enough to understand what’s at stake here," he said. "People don’t want their children growing up in a society that says drug use is OK."

Federal drug enforcement officials said they feared drug traffickers would begin shipping more pot to Colorado because it would have been viewed as "a drug tourist spot." But Tvert argued that the current fines - a misdemeanor offense and a $100 ticket - show that the government doesn’t really consider possession of an ounce of marijuana a serious problem anyway.

"If they did, they wouldn’t have such light penalties," he said.

Tvert’s campaign strategy relied heavily on penetrating markets not normally targeted in politics. Advertising on alternative radio stations, using text messaging and pushing a massive voter registration drive on the three largest college campuses appeared to make a difference.

But he admitted registering the youth wasn’t enough. They actually would have to show up and vote - not something that can always be relied upon. And some of those they registered at Colorado State University said they wouldn’t support the measure.

Most students opposed to the ballot measure suggested that pot was so readily available anyway that they simply didn’t see a need to legalize it. But student supporters said they felt it was a waste of resources to continue to try to prosecute those in possession of less than an ounce.

Even some Republican activists joined the pro-44 campaign, saying it is a question of personal freedom and the government should stay out of it.

Among Republicans to support the measure were activist Jessica Cory and talk show host Mike Rosen.

Attorney General John Suthers said the passage of an initiative in Denver last year was misleading in projecting statewide support for legalizing pot.

"This time around, we were able to educate the voters on what it meant and I don't think people were ready to embrace the legalization of marijuana," Suthers said.

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