Pubdate: Tue, 11 Dec 2012
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Copyright: 2012 The Associated Press
Contact:  http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/409
Author: Kristen Wyatt, The Associated Press
Page: A4

COLORADO SECOND STATE TO LEGALIZE USE OF MARIJUANA

Governor Makes Low-Key Proclamation

Voters Passed Amendment Last Month

DENVER (AP)- Marijuana for recreational use became legal in Colorado 
on Monday, when the governor took a purposely low-key procedural step 
of declaring the voter-approved change part of the state constitution.

Colorado became the second state after Washington to allow pot use 
without a doctor's recommendation. Both states prohibit public use of 
the drug, and commercial sales in Colorado and Washington won't be 
permitted until after regulations are written next year.

Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, opposed the measure but had no 
veto power over the voter-approved amendment to the state constitution.

Hickenlooper said he didn't want to make a big deal about the 
proclamation, a decision that prevented a countdown to legalization 
as seen in Washington, where the law's supporters gathered to smoke 
in public to celebrate.

Fewer than two dozen people publicly marked Colorado's legalization 
day. A small group puffed away at 4:20 p.m. on the steps of the state 
Capitol, with no arrests and no police officers in sight.

"It smells like freedom," said a smiling, puffing Timothy Tipton, a 
longtime marijuana activist.

Colorado law gave Hickenlooper until Jan. 5 to declare marijuana 
legal. He said Monday he saw no reason to wait and didn't see any 
point in letting marijuana become legal without his proclamation.

"If the voters go out and pass something and they put it in the state 
constitution, by a significant margin, far be it from myself or any 
governor to overrule. I mean, this is why it's a democracy, right?" 
Hickenlooper said.

Adults over 21 in Colorado may now possess up to an ounce of 
marijuana, or six plants. Public use and sale of the drug remain illegal.

Colorado and Washington officials both have asked the U.S. Department 
of Justice for guidance on the laws that conflict with federal drug 
law. So far the federal government has offered little guidance beyond 
stating that marijuana remains illegal and that the Controlled 
Substances Act will be enforced.

The U.S. Attorney's Office issued a statement Monday shortly after 
Hickenlooper's announcement restating its position.

Hickenlooper also announced a state task force Monday to help craft 
the marijuana regulations. The 24-member task force includes law 
enforcement, agriculture officials and marijuana advocates.

The governor admonished the task force not to ponder whether 
marijuana should be legal.

"I don't think we benefit anyone by going back and turning over the 
same soil. Our job is to move forward," he said.

Hickenlooper told the task force to "work to reconcile Colorado and 
federal laws such that the new laws and regulations do not subject 
Colorado state and local governments and state and local government 
employees to prosecution by the federal government."

Colorado's marijuana measure, Amendment 64, was approved with 55 
percent of the vote last month. One of the authors of Colorado's pot 
amendment, Mason Tvert, called the declaration "truly historic."

"We are certain that this will be a successful endeavor and Colorado 
will become a model for other states to follow," Tvert said in a statement.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom