Pubdate: Thu, 4 Aug 2005
Source: Telluride Daily Planet (CO)
Contact:  2005 Telluride Daily Planet, A Division of Womack Publishing Company
Website: http://www.telluridegateway.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3881
Author: Reilly Capps
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Marijuana)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

MARIJUANA INITIATIVE SET FOR NOV. BALLOT

While a marijuana ordinance has received more than enough support to
place it on the November ballot, it was the initiative's opponents who
were most vocal at the Telluride Town Council meeting Tuesday.

Speaking passionately about their opposition to marijuana use, about a
half-dozen opponents spoke out about the negative implications of an
ordinance that would relax the enforcement of marijuana laws and
support a statewide system of legalization, distribution and taxation.

A number of supporters also spoke during a half-hour debate that ended
without consensus.

The town council had two options: to either endorse the ordinance and
therefore put it on the books, or place the ordinance on the November
ballot.

The council showed no inclination toward passing the measure
themselves. Instead, they chose unanimously to let voters decide.

"Whatever council votes today, it's neither an endorsement or a denial
of the initiative," said council member Andrea Benda.

"There's been a lot of back and forth on this, and that's what an
election is all about," said council member Stu Fraser. "By Nov. 1,
everybody will have heard every aspect of this ... and then the folks
in the community will vote on it."

The debate was not broadcast on KOTO, since a power outage forced the
meeting out of Rebekah Hall and into the firehouse next door. But the
30 or 40 people who attended the meeting heard several sides of the
arguments for and against the proposed ordinance, America's Drug War,
medical marijuana and marijuana use in general.

Opponents cited a variety of concerns.

Richard Kearney, a former member of the Positive Alternatives Team,
which works to provide area youth with alternatives to drug and
alcohol use, wondered whether the ordinance might lead to increased
violence, because, he said, a large portion of "violent crime is
substance related."

Marrene Reagan, a family therapist, said that while she supports
medical marijuana to ease pain, de-criminalizing marijuana would be
bad for families.

"Children are confused because many of the people that they look up to
and respect are very comfortable using marijuana," Reagan said. "They
question this use of a substance to fill these emotional holes we have
in us. There are ways to fill these emotional holes that allow us to
grow and are positive, and I don't think using substances is an
answer. I just think this is a highly unusual step that I don't think
addresses many of the issues and I don't think it's necessary."

Laura Van Wagner emotionally echoed Reagan's views.

"My concern is just that - children and families," Van Wagner said.
"Children learn and view what their families do. Medical uses I agree
with, but parents who are using marijuana - are they qualified to
really be on top of what their children are doing? To me it's a
frightening situation. ... Legalizing it for adults - where does this
leave the children?"

The ordinance would not, in fact, legalize marijuana. It would merely
make it the Town Marshals' "lowest law enforcement priority."

Some saw that as a problem in itself.

"I think it's inappropriate to create a priority" for the marshals,
said Mike Dorsey, a former lawyer for the federal government. "Law
enforcement is a flexible matter. The marshals work with the town
attorneys to make their own priorities."

Dorsey said he worried that the ordinance is part of a "scheme" to
legalize pot.

"You guys are trying to send a message to the state, if not the
nation, that marijuana should be legalized," Dorsey said. "I think
that's inappropriate for the families of Telluride. If we pass this
ordinance we're saying that Telluride supports the decriminalization
of marijuana."

The ordinance supports the legalization of pot, if only symbolically.
If marijuana is ever legalized in Colorado, "the Town of Telluride
shall support the creation of a system to license, tax and regulate
marijuana for adult use as soon as possible," it reads. This would
take the form of businesses licensed and regulated by the town, much
like the hash bars found in the Netherlands. The ordinance includes
provisions to keep them away from churches and schools and to keep
minors from smoking.

Ernest Eich, the ordinance's main sponsor, said he felt marijuana
should be legal and regulated in the same way that alcohol is, and
that the Drug War puts non-violent citizens in jail.

"We don't want to be waging war on our own citizens," he said. He
pointed to a report by the marshal's department saying that violent
crime increased 12 percent in 2004. "We think that the police should
be able to focus on these violent crimes. We think it's a better use
of our resources."

Several council members were skeptical.

"I would like to know where you think the marshals' priorities are
now," Benda said. "Are we truly clogging our courts and jails by
arresting law abiding adults?"

Said council member Mark Buchsieb: "It's not even a priority for the cops now."

Brian Vicente, executive director of the Denver-based lobbying group
Sensible Colorado, pointed out that San Miguel County ranked fourth in
the nation in marijuana arrests and that drug arrests in general were
on the rise in Telluride. (Exact statistics for marijuana arrests are
not available for Telluride, but all arrests for all types of drugs
increased 64 percent in 2004, according the marshal's department).
Vicente acknowledged that one reason for the high arrest rate might be
the higher marijuana use on the Western Slope. In a recent federal
report, the Western Slope ranked in the nation's top 15 regions in
marijuana use.

Rachael Matier, a college student in Denver, worried about what effect
a marijuana conviction might have on her education.

"If a marijuana conviction is on my record I will no longer be able to
get federal funding for schools," she said. "I've seen this happen to
my friends and it rips away the possibility for higher education."

Much of the debate focused on medical marijuana, even though the
proposed ordinance says nothing about the controversial Colorado program.

But Peggy Rose, a registered medical marijuana patient from Grand
Junction, said she would like to have a "sanctuary" where she can use
her medicine without worrying about prosecution. She said she suffers
from chronic nausea and cannot eat if she does not smoke the herb.

Ron Gilmer, a member of the Colorado Advisory Counsel on AIDS, said he
supported the medical marijuana initiative as a way of relieving the
pain of terminally ill patients. He said he especially supported the
second part of the ordinance, which supports a method of marijuana
distribution that would give patients easier access to the drug.

"I think that this would be a big step forward to show the state that
we support this sort of thing," Gilmer said.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake