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INFO ON POT INITIATIVE A SMOKE SCREEN

Nobody ever said politics isn't rough and tumble.  Nobody ever said politics isn't dirty.  But when our state leaders deliberately mislead us in a publication that we count on for information, we should hold someone accountable.  Think of it.  We taxpayers pay to publish a voter pamphlet.  We pay to send it to every registered voter.  And our leaders have used it to intentionally sway our votes on one issue. 

Of course I'm talking about the Colorado Legislative Council's Blue Book and specifically the description of a marijuana initiative that would make possession of small quantities legal.  Under the marijuana initiative appears a phrase that states adults can give "up to one ounce of marijuana to another individual 15 years of age or older as long as there is no compensation."

This is, of course, a pure, unadulterated lie.  Possession by minors would not be allowed under the initiative because state law is already on the books forbidding it.  So my question is this: Who put that misleading statement into the Blue Book? Who is responsible?

Well, wouldn't you know it? I checked the organization's website, and somebody named Kirk Mlinek is director of the council.  Assistant director is Daniel Chapman.  Staffers for ballot analysis include: Deb Godshall, Cathy Eslinger and Susan Liddle.  Is this their work?

I did learn that the president of the Senate appoints six members of the Senate and the speaker of the House appoints six members of the House to the Legislative Council.  Uh, would it be asking too much to list their names?

A terrible precedent has been set.  Apparently foes of initiatives now can insert misleading, false information about any voter initiative into the Blue Book.  We might as well save some money and eliminate the publication. 

Meanwhile, we should investigate how this happened.  What if the initiative were about Tabor and the council published misleading information? That couldn't happen? Bet me.