Pubdate: Wed, 14 Aug 2013 Source: Colorado Springs Independent (CO) Column: CannaBiz Copyright: 2013 Colorado Springs Independent Contact: http://www.csindy.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1536 Author: Bryce Crawford PALMER LAKE BANS POT, ADVOCATES SING BACK AT CITY AND MORE Another town readjusts Late last week, the town of Palmer Lake joined almost every other municipality in El Paso County and banned the retail sales of recreational marijuana, by a vote of 4 to 1. "Council member Michael Maddox said he enjoyed his pot-smoking days in the 1960s," reported the Gazette. "He even wrote a book, Peace Freak, but he said pot has changed. It's more potent and he didn't want the heartache such hard drugs would bring to the small town, population 2,200." The action leaves the anticipated reality of Manitou Springs being the only spot to purchase playful pot in place. The city was set to hold its first working meeting on the topic Tuesday night, as the Indy went to press. Acts of social significance People in the '40s had Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land," the '60s, Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are a-Changin'," and the '80s, Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." Now KC Stark, owner of Studio A64, has something for the currently dissatisfied: "Just Say Yes!" Skipping the verse-chorus-verse structure, the song combines upbeat guitar strums with conversational lyrics, while the video shows images of protesters outside Colorado Springs City Hall the day of the July 23 vote. "I was in school, they told me, 'We're special / It's one man, one vote. One man, one vote,' that's what they said," sings Stark. "But the City Council said something else. They said, 'No. Just say no.' / How's that worked out for you? / Well, I got a lot of people that, uh, they been places they shouldn't be. So I say, just say yes." See the video at tiny.cc/64protestsong1. Meanwhile, marijuana advocate Mark Slaugh and supporters created a first-person video called "Every Vote Counts!" showing different people talking about Colorado Springs City Council's decision to opt out of recreational-marijuana sales. "There are things we can do about this," says the video. "We can hold our own election on this matter. Or we could even recall our elected officials. It's time to get the politicians behind the people they represent." Watch it at tiny.cc/64protestvideo. Keef crumbs A recent report from the Colorado Department of Revenue showed that statewide sales of medical marijuana hit $77 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2012-13 (January-March), and $224.9 million since the state's fiscal year began last July. The state collected $2.13 million and $6.23 million, respectively, in sales-tax revenue. In El Paso County, quarterly sales hit $12.5 million, with a year-to-date of $36.1 million. On Monday, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder revealed a plan to avoid mandatory-sentencing guidelines for low-level, nonviolent drug offenders in an attempt to reduce the population of federal prisons. Read more at tiny.cc/holderMJ. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom