Pubdate: Tue, 07 May 2013
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2013 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: John Ingold

RESOLUTION TO HALT MARIJUANA SALES IN COLORADO SHOPS DIES

Marijuana advocates late Monday fought back an effort that could have 
halted Colorado's plans for legal marijuana shops, ending a debate 
that swept through the state Capitol like a dust devil for a little 
more than three hours.

The proposal, Senate Concurrent Resolution 3, would have put two 
separate constitutional measures before the voters in November. The 
first would have asked voters to approve special sales and excise 
taxes on recreational marijuana. If that measure failed, a second 
measure would have asked voters whether they wanted to suspend 
recreational marijuana sales.

The resolution was introduced at about 6 p.m. on the third-to-last 
day of the legislative session - the absolute last moment it could 
have been formally proposed. It was sponsored by two dozen senators, 
including Senate President John Morse. And it cleared a Senate 
committee less than an hour after it was introduced.

But facing a midnight deadline for initial approval in the full 
Senate and a handful of lawmakers committed to defeating it, Morse 
adjourned the Senate for the night at about 9:30 p.m. without taking 
up the resolution. Under legislative terminology, the newly 
introduced resolution was suddenly "dead on the calendar."

Morse said the measure was an attempt to force marijuana advocates to 
support the ballot measure on pot taxes.

"If the tax measure is unsuccessful in November, the taxpayers will 
be left holding the bag," Morse said Monday night. "And I can assure 
you that the Colorado legislature will take up this issue again if 
that happens."

Pot sales, at specially licensed marijuana stores, haven't even 
started yet but were authorized by Amendment 64, a marijuana 
legalization measure that voters passed just last year. The 
resolution introduced Monday would have suspended the sales until 
voters approve taxes to fund regulation of those stores.

The measure wouldn't have affected Amendment 64's portions that 
legalize use and limited possession of marijuana for adults.

The resolution created chaos in the halls of the Capitol, as 
advocates and lobbyists scrambled to find copies of the 
resolution-which had not been posted online when the committee 
debated it - and raced to testify before the committee.

"I don't see how this is anything more than an affront to our system 
of government and how we do things here," Christian Sederberg, one of 
the authors of Amendment 64, said.

Morse said the resolution was an attempt to get marijuana advocates' 
attention to support pot taxes. A separate measure at the Capitol, 
House Bill 1318, proposes a 15 percent excise tax and a special sales 
tax initially set at 10 percent on marijuana. Voters would have to 
ultimately approve the taxes.

Lawmakers in the Senate must give initial approval to that bill, plus 
another bill on marijuana-store regulations, by midnight Tuesday or 
they too die for lack of time left.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom