Pubdate: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 Source: Honolulu Star-Advertiser (HI) Copyright: 2014 Associated Press Contact: http://www.staradvertiser.com/info/Star-Advertiser_Letter_to_the_Editor.html Website: http://www.staradvertiser.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5154 Author: Kristen Wyatt, Associated Press Page: A14 COLORADO POLITICIANS MOSTLY SILENT ON POT DENVER (AP) - Colorado has seen feisty debates this fall, with candidates in close races for governor, Senate and the U.S. House arguing over abortion rights, energy policy and the death penalty. Just don't expect any of them to talk much about the biggest news of the year: legal pot. While the state's 10month-old marijuana retail experiment has received worldwide attention and sales of recreational and medical pot have generated more than $45 million for state coffers, most voters have collectively shrugged. Predictions that they would go scrambling back to the polls to repeal the legal-pot law they passed in 2012 haven't yet materialized. Instead, the political landscape has changed, with some candidates, including the governor, accepting tens of thousands of dollars in donations from people within the fledgling pot industry. Now the only ones bringing it up on the campaign trail are third-party and independent hopefuls - all backers of legal pot. Many of them take issue with the state's high pot taxes - more than 30 percent in many jurisdictions - or with regulations they consider onerous. "I don't know why politicians aren't talking about this," said independent gubernatorial candidate Mike Dunafon, a long shot who is touting endorsements from rappers Snoop Dogg and Wyclef Jean because of his embrace of the drug. Maybe it's because the major-party candidates almost universally agree. They say when asked that they personally opposed making the drug legal but respect the voters' wishes. And while the marijuana rollout has not been without problems, including concerns about children getting potent edible pot, there have been no public-safety problems widespread enough to focus voters' minds on a repeal effort. Marijuana isn't playing a big role in the tight governor's race. Both Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper and Republican Bob Beauprez oppose legal marijuana. Politicians' marijuana hesitance reflects voters' indifference on the topic. A September NBC/Marist poll asked residents about the law allowing adults over 21 to buy recreational pot. Thirty-three percent said they opposed the law but were "not actively trying to have it overturned." Eight percent said they were working to overturn it. Third-party and independent candidates are sometimes making pot the hallmark of their campaigns, even in local races. In a western Colorado state Senate contest, Libertarian candidate Lee Mulcahy has been throwing free dinners serving marijuana-infused foods. Voters have to show they're 21 before noshing on foods like yellowtail crudo with coconut-ginger sativa oil and a salad tossed in marijuana-infused vinaigrette. "It's so fascinating, the reluctance of my opponents to even say the word cannabis," he said. "Voters want to be talking about this, but the major-party candidates have to tow the party line. They've all been coached to not say anything. I'm simply amazed." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom