Rural official eyes pot resolution
Commissioner set to recommend decriminalization
Hector Gutierrez, Rocky Mountain News
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
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The commissioners in a rural eastern Colorado county plan to discuss decriminalizing marijuana today.
Cheyenne County Commission Chairman Richard Bergman is expected to introduce a resolution backing the legalization of marijuana under a system that would allow the county to tax and regulate the herb.
Realistically, Bergman, 64, said he doesn't think Cheyenne County is ready to support his proposal.
"No, they're not ready for anything. We're just trying to get something going," he said.
Cheyenne County Sheriff Virgil Drescher said Bergman is right.
The sheriff plans to be at the hearing in Cheyenne Wells to say that even if voters eventually approve the measure, that would not stop his deputies from enforcing all drug laws in the county.
If the resolution is approved by the three-member commission, it would place the measure on the November ballot to allow the citizens to vote on it. Cheyenne County, population 3,000, sits next to the Kansas state line.
Bergman, who lives in the town of Wild Horse, said he has advocated legalization of marijuana since he returned from service in Vietnam.
"It seemed like I had more freedom in Vietnam than when I came back and got harassed for smoking a little pot," he said.
A semi-retired antique store operator, Bergman said he gave up smoking marijuana before taking public office, but he considers it a constitutional right.
"You know as it says in the Constitution - life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness - well, that's not true, it's a lie, just another 'weapons of mass destruction' lie," he said.
He will not be able to count on the support of Commissioner Ronald Howard. Commissioner Nancy Bogenhagen could not be reached for comment.
"No sir, and if it was up to me, smoking would be illegal and alcohol would be illegal," Howard said when asked whether he would support the resolution. "There would be no way that I would vote for that."
Bergman compared enforcement of marijuana laws to the prohibition of alcohol, when authorities fought a losing battle against bootleggers.
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