Pubdate: Thu, 03 Nov 2005
Source: Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)
Copyright: 2005, Denver Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.rockymountainnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/371
Author: Sarah Langbein, Rocky Mountain News
Note: Staff writer Kevin Vaughan contributed to this report.
Cited: Marijuana Policy Project ( www.mpp.org )
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/props.htm (Ballot Initiatives)

TO VOTERS, ISSUE WAS FREEDOM OF CHOICE

'Adults Can Make Own Decisions,' Backer Says

What were Denver voters thinking when they passed an initiative to 
legalize small amounts of marijuana?

Were they too consumed with the munchies to think clearly?

Was the voting booth so smoke-filled that they couldn't see the ballot?

The jokes rolled in Wednesday - like the joints - as Colorado and the 
rest of the country learned that a day earlier Initiative 100 
actually won, allowing adults to possess 1 ounce or less of 
marijuana. Television reports cashed in with Denver's slogan, saying 
that voters truly put the "high" in Mile High.

But for many Denver residents, the vote was nothing close to a joke.

One man, Jordan Dieterich, said he took the vote so seriously that he 
even prayed on it.

In the end, he said, he followed the Bible.

Quoting Genesis, Dieterich said that God created vegetation, and that 
includes marijuana plants.

"The earth brought forth vegetation," Dieterich read from the Bible, 
"plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing 
fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw 
that it was good."

Dieterich, 39, said he no longer smokes pot but has an elderly friend 
who does for medicinal purposes.

"She's terrified that police will find out," he said. "She's afraid 
they'll knock on her door and arrest her.

"I feel like it should be a personal decision, that adults can make 
their own decisions."

That appeared to be the reasoning of most pro-pot voters in Denver.

Justin Nucci, 32, believes adults can make decisions for themselves.

"I've always been a person that felt that if somebody is willing to 
do something like that to their body, then it's their prerogative to 
do so," he said.

"It doesn't need to be regulated, for a personal-use quantity, by the police."

Cynthia Munson, 58, agreed.

"I wouldn't smoke marijuana, but it seems like everyone else does," 
she said. "And it seems like the police would have more time to go 
after real criminals instead of piddly amounts of marijuana here and there."

Denver law enforcers, including the police and district attorney's 
office, say Initiative 100 will not change the way they handle pot 
cases. Marijuana possession cases will continue to be prosecuted 
under the state law.

Tuesday's vote was followed closely by pro-pot organizations across 
the country, including the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project.

Spokesman Bruce Mirken said Denver's decision shows there is a change 
in how the nation is viewing marijuana.

"It shows that voters of all stripes are ready to grapple with this 
issue," he said.

He believes many voters compared pot to alcohol and wondered if it is 
really necessary to treat pot consumption harsher.

Mirken believes adults should have the choice of whether to unwind 
after work with a martini or a joint.

Tom Severance, 54, voted for I-100 - he doesn't think pot is any 
worse than alcohol.

"I just felt it was high time that pot was legal," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake