DENVER, COLORADO–(ENEWSPF)–February 28, 2012. Yesterday, Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler announced that the initiative to make adult use of marijuana legal and regulate it in a manner similarly to alcohol received enough signatures to qualify for the state ballot in November. In a Statement of Sufficiency released this afternoon, Sec. Gessler reported that the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol turned in more than the required number of valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. Voters in Colorado will have the opportunity to vote on this measure on November 6 of this year.
If passed, the initiative would allow adults 21 and older to possess and use limited amounts of marijuana. It would also establish a system of regulations to control and tax marijuana sales, much like the system that exists for alcohol, and direct the state legislature to enact legislation governing the cultivation, processing, and sales of industrial hemp.
“Supporters of rational marijuana policies everywhere should congratulate the residents of Colorado for placing this initiative on the ballot,” said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project. “Regulating marijuana like alcohol will create jobs, allow police to focus on more serious crimes, provide much-needed tax revenue, and will do a far better job of keeping marijuana away from children than the current system does. A majority of Americans recognize that the government’s war on marijuana is an expensive failure and think that marijuana should be legal for adults. This November, Coloradans will get a chance to lead the nation by becoming the first state to end marijuana prohibition.”
A coalition of supporters of the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol will be holding a press conference tomorrow afternoon at the campaign’s headquarters, including Former Colorado House Majority Leader Paul Weissmann, Colorado NAACP President Rosemary Harris Lytle, and Denise Maes of the ACLU of Colorado. The conference will take place at 2:00 p.m. MST at 1177 Grant St., 3rd Floor, Denver, Colorado.
Source: mpp.org
