Pubdate: Thu, 18 Oct 2012
Source: Cortez Journal, The (CO)
Copyright: 2012 The Cortez Journal
Contact:  http://www.cortezjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3602
Author: Caleb Soptelean

POT ISSUE A HOT TOPIC AT FORUM

Local Candidates, Officials Say No to Amendment 64

Amendment 64, which would legalize small amounts of marijuana in 
Colorado, was a hot topic at Monday's Farm Bureau election forum.

Montezuma County Undersheriff Robin Cronk spoke against the ballot 
measure before an audience of some 50 people at the Montezuma County Annex.

Cronk advised residents to vote against legalization, which Sheriff 
Dennis Spruell has previously spoken against.

Colorado has weak drug laws as it is, Cronk said.

"None of our (drug) laws have any teeth. It's a joke. If you want to 
be a criminal, the state of Colorado is the place to do it in," he 
said. "If you loosen it up more, it will get out of control."

Illegal drugs are running rampant in Colorado and across the country, 
he said. If Amendment 64 is approved, Mexican and other gangs will 
descend on the state, he added.

As it is, "Gangs are moving in (to La Plata and Montezuma counties)," 
Cronk said. "It's virgin territory. The BIA (Bureau of Indian 
Affairs) has zero control when it comes to drugs and gangs. If 
Amendment 64 is approved, it will spiral out of control."

Cronk said that law enforcement agencies in Arizona and New Mexico 
will not appreciate it if Colorado voters approve the ballot measure, 
which he believes would result in increased drug trafficking across 
the Southwest.

He notes that drug dealers already pass through Cortez in order to 
avoid the interstate highways.

"The marijuana growers are going to come into our community" if 64 is 
approved, said Sgt. Darren Harper, a drug recognition expert. "We 
will not have enough law enforcement in this community to handle it."

Referring to what he called "the republic of Boulder," Cronk said 
there are some counties in the state that will vote for Amendment 64, 
so other counties need to counteract those votes. Durango and 
Telluride (La Plata and San Miguel counties) may also vote in favor 
of the measure, he said.

Amendment 64 would amend the state constitution to allow those 21 and 
older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana. The amendment also 
provides for government licensing, regulation and taxing of marijuana 
retail stores, cultivation facilities, product manufacturing 
facilities and testing facilities.

Cronk provided a handout from Healthy and Drug Free Colorado which 
states, "Organized crime and drug cartels could use front people in 
order to cultivate unlimited amounts of marijuana and then distribute 
it from Colorado rather than across the border." Additionally, "There 
is no way to control the diversion of marijuana out of state or to 
the youth. Colorado would most likely become the primary source state 
for the other 49 states in our country where it is illegal."

All three District 3 county commissioner candidates oppose Amendment 64.

U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, received a "Friend of the Farm 
Bureau" award at the meeting.

Tipton said a rule proposed by the Obama Administration that would 
prevent youngsters from working on a bale of hay taller than six feet 
had been pulled and postponed for the rest of the year.

Such a rule would negatively impact family farms, he said.

The proposed rule was not sponsored by a congressman, Tipton said. 
Instead it came out of the bureaucracy.

Tipton said House Speaker John Boehner told him that Congress would 
consider the Farm Bill in November. Tipton said the holdup on 
approval of the Farm Bill has to do with the Supplemental Nutrition 
Assistance Program, i.e. SNAP or food stamps. There will be a move to 
separate SNAP from the Farm Bill next month, he said.

State Rep. Don Coram, R-Montrose, also addressed the audience. 
District 58, Coram's district, was redrawn based on the U.S. Census 
to include all of Montezuma County.

Tipton's opponents, state Rep. Sal Pace, D-Pueblo, Libertarian 
Gregory Gilman, and Independent Tisha Casida were not present, 
although Pace made a campaign stop in Cortez on Friday. Coram's 
opponents, Democrat Tammy Theis and Libertarian Jeff Downs, were also 
absent from the forum.

After the meeting, Montezuma County's District 3 Commissioner 
candidates were asked if they support the county commission's recent 
disbandment of the Public Lands Coordination Commission.

Independent Greg Kemp and Republican Dewayne Findley both oppose the 
PLCC's disbandment.

"It's important for the county commission to have the advice of a 
citizen-led advisory committee," Kemp said. He also believes that "a 
commissioner needs to be at the table."

Findley, who served as chairman of the PLCC for a short time after 
its creation in 2010 and subsequently resigned, said he wouldn't have 
disbanded the PLCC but believes it needs to be restructured.

"It was structured with too many permittees (i.e. those who have 
obtained federal permits) and was not diverse enough. Don't turn your 
back on a citizens' working group," he said. "The commissioners also 
need to be involved."

Findley said he resigned as PLCC chair because "our recommendation 
was not resulting in implementation by the county commissioners."

Independent Larry Don Suckla declined to comment on whether or not he 
supported the PLCC's disbandment. "I do support a commissioner being 
at the table," Suckla said.

Editor's note: The county commissioners plan on communicating with 
the US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management directly.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom