Pubdate: Sat, 04 Jul 2015 Source: Denver Post (CO) Copyright: 2015 The Denver Post Corp Contact: http://www.denverpost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122 REVISED POT PLAN IS STILL A STRETCH Backers of an initiative to allow pot consumption in Denver where it is now off limits have revised their ballot plan since we first discussed it two weeks ago. And the final version is more restrictive than the original idea. But whether the revisions go far enough to make it palatable to voters is another question. We doubt it, and will be curious to see how major civic and business groups - not to mention the mayor and City Council members - react should sponsors gather enough signatures for the ballot. With a threshold of only 4,700 signatures by Sept. 3, that task shouldn't be terribly hard. The sponsors say their attempt to go to the ballot is being made in lieu of a trip to the courts. They believe Denver's interpretation of where pot smoking should be banned is overly broad and unconstitutional. The initiative would allow consumption in specific outdoor areas of establishments that don't allow anyone younger than 21, so long as users are 25 feet from a public space. Proponents say that is far enough away not to be intrusive. But that might also be less than 10 yards from a sidewalk, where it could be visible to the public. Are Denverites really ready for this? Currently, Denver bans pot use in any outdoor location on a private non-residential property if it is clearly visible from a public place - - which to us is what Amendment 64's language anticipated. Backers say this is not what Amendment 64 intended. They say private, non-residential property owners have the right to decide whether pot can be consumed on their land or not. They believe they could sue the city for being in violation of the state constitution but instead want voters to decide. Recreational marijuana has been legal for only about a year and a half. Denver is still getting used to the business model and the consequences of legalization. We'd have preferred pot proponents give the new model more time before jumping into an electoral battle over the right of public consumption. On the other hand, if we're going to debate whether to widen the boundaries of consumption, the ballot box is indeed where this question should be explored - rather than be dictated by the City Council or even state lawmakers. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom