Recently the City Planning Commission held a very important meeting to discuss zoning requirements for medical marijuana facilities. This topic is a legislative action in which all discussion in and out of the meeting is allowed. As permitted, I put the word out to several key stakeholders who were unaware of the meeting and encouraged them to participate. The result was a excellent discussion of the issue from a very broad cross section of the community. Represented were the Cannabis Council, the Council of Neighbors and Organizations (CONO), shop owners, a legislator, the District Attorney, K-12 education, medical marijuana patients, the police department, property owners, patient caregivers, neighbors, colleges and universities, religious institutions, alcohol and drug treatment professionals and mothers of medical marijuana users. It was a very informative meeting and the commission and the community are better for the dialogue. Let the discussion continue. I believe that the greater the participation from the community the better the policy. Janet Suthers, City Planning Commissioner Colorado Springs [end]
On the ballot this fall is a county measure placed by the county commissioners called 1A. It is a measure to keep medical marijuana dispensaries from being allowed in unincorporated El Paso County. There is a similar measure on the ballot in Fountain called 2G. Pot shops have sprung up all over the place. Whenever you see a green cross on a sign and/or a building in El Paso County that is code for pot. This must stop. If you look at the Independent newspaper, at least 10 pages are ads for pot shops. If you read the ads closely, you will see some of them have doctors on site to write prescriptions. [continues 361 words]
Once more The Gazette offers an editorial supporting medical marijuana, (Sept. 16) arguing "an above-ground, regulated, taxed, store-front trade is better than a trade regulated to the black market or neighborhood basements." Inference: we must accept either one or the other. If we adopt your logic, accepting the first (regulated, taxed drug trade) presumably would help us avoid the damaging effects of the latter (illegal drug trade). History suggests otherwise. Legalized gambling, for example, did not reduce illegal gambling in the U.S.; rather, it has increased it. (MacCoun and Reuter, 2001) [continues 333 words]
City Planning Commission to Consider Rules Sept. 16 Medical marijuana dispensaries, grow operations and facilities making edible products would be restricted to commercial and industrial zones in Colorado Springs and banned within 400 feet of schools, alcohol or drug treatment facilities or residential child care homes under rules drafted by city planners. The proposed zoning and land-use regulations will go before the City Planning Commission on Sept. 16. If approved, the proposal could come before the City Council in October, said Steve Tuck, the planner overseeing the drafting of the rules. [continues 440 words]
Amendment 20 was passed by Colorado voters in 2000. It calls for the use of Medical Marijuana (MMJ) by individuals with "debilitating medical conditions" who have received an MMJ card through the state Health Department. It was designed to deliver the drug through a caregiver model allowing a caregiver to provide MMJ to a very limited number of patients. It also allows for a patient to grow his or her own personal supply of MMJ. For years, this model worked well and provided MMJ for up to 4,000 patients statewide. In 2008 however, the Obama administration declared that, within states with MMJ laws, there would no longer be any federal enforcement of marijuana laws. Add to this an appellate court decision that essentially said that the omission of a definition or even mention of dispensaries within Amendment 20 meant that they must be legal, and suddenly the number of MMJ card applications skyrocketed. Also skyrocketing over the past two years is the number of dispensaries, large scale grow operations and infused products operations. [continues 504 words]
It's been said that Moses smoked the burning bush, that the Book of Revelation was written in a drug-induced state, and that most religions began with mystical experiences enhanced by hallucinogens. These fringe ideas have found a place at some of the 176 medical marijuana dispensaries that have sprung up in Colorado Springs. But there are also a handful of dispensaries that use religious terminology and imagery while claiming no religious affiliation. Perhaps the most popular religious reference is to the Tree of Life, written of in Genesis. Healing Tree Cooperative, Tree of Life Wellness Center and Tree of Wellness are just some examples. [continues 350 words]
El Paso County Commissioners have been whining about the crushing decline in sales tax revenues while trying to scare voters into tax increases, but when a legal business comes along with potential to contribute mightily to the county coffers, they seek to ban it. Medical marijuana businesses are not only easing the pain and suffering of El Paso County residents with a variety of physical maladies, but they could provide relief for our county's budget. There are thousands of patients holding cards (from their doctors) in our county, and these dispensaries will earn millions of dollars that will be taxed. [continues 55 words]
Maketa Says Pot Moratorium Would Do Harm Monument Police Chief Jacob Shirk is a respectable, qualified lawman and a person of integrity. He would have made a good sheriff. But he didn't stand a chance in his recent primary race against Sheriff Terry Maketa. Maketa won by a landslide because he serves with honor and there was no reason to throw him out. Maketa has been honest with the public, letting people know they are their best first-line of defense against crime. He has encouraged law-abiding individuals to learn about guns and consider obtaining concealed handgun permits. He has stated his refusal to jail anyone who violates a campus weapons ban, thus placing priority on the rights of students to protect themselves against predators. As others whined about resources, Maketa stepped up to resolve the region's seemingly intractable need for a detoxification facility. [continues 346 words]
For months, media reports have chronicled fiery debates over marijuana's medicinal utility and its impact on our broader communities. But what about those constituencies who don't have a lobbyist down at the Capitol or City Hall? What about our veterans? National polls consistently show support for medical marijuana rights at over 60 percent. A May Rasmussen report concluded that one in two Colorado voters support outright marijuana legalization, even for non-medicinal purposes. And while state officials now estimate Colorado's official registered patient count somewhere about 130,000, skeptics remain firmly rooted to the stereotype that patients are just a bunch of lazy hippies looking to evade marijuana prohibition. As a medical marijuana caregiver, I have the honor of serving a couple hundred of our state's patients on a regular basis. They are anything but lazy or law-evading. Like me, many of them are vets. They are my motivation for writing today. [continues 504 words]
County Commissioners Put Medical Pot Ban On Ballot El Paso County residents will get to vote in November whether medical marijuana dispensaries, grow operations and manufacturers of marijuana-infused products should be banned in unincorporated areas. After a lengthy discussion and more public testimony, the commissioners voted 4-1 Thursday to place the question to the ballot. "This is an issue that goes to the heart of legalized marijuana in El Paso County," said Commissioner Amy Lathen. "I support going to the people and abiding by their will in this matter." [continues 441 words]
Those Who Said Nothing Did The Most In politics, the best action is often no action at all. That's because politicians cannot solve most problems. Our culture's belief that politicians are "leaders," able to solve most problems, only harms us. Politicians typically forget their own limitations when presented a dilemma, or else they lack the humility and strength of conviction to just do nothing. Monday was a notable exception, when a majority on the Colorado Springs City Council chose to do nothing at all, regarding a failed petition drive for a ballot measure designed to forbid medical marijuana stores in Colorado Springs. [continues 435 words]
Colorado Springs voters will not get a chance to decide the fate of the 176 medical marijuana dispensaries and grow operations in the city this November, but they may still have a shot in April. Recently enacted Colorado House Bill 1284 allows communities in Colorado to regulate medical marijuana businesses, either through local government or a public vote. A ballot question proposed by councilman Darryl Glenn at City Council's informal meeting Monday would have asked residents to vote on whether the dispensaries, which have blossomed in the community in the last two years, should be banned. But the proposal failed to get the support of a majority of council members. [continues 205 words]
Four politicians on opposite sides of the medical marijuana debate will face off during a televised forum Wednesday in Colorado Springs as talk of a ban on dispensaries heats up. (Click here for a story about new dispensaries.) Fourth Judicial District Attorney Dan May and state Rep. Mark Waller, who have criticized the budding medical marijuana industry, will square off against Colorado Springs City Councilmen Tom Gallagher and Sean Paige, who have advocated regulating it. "I hope the other side comes armed with something better to offer than superstition and scare tactics," Paige said Friday. [continues 208 words]
Following an all-day meeting Thursday, El Paso County commissioners voted 3-2 to postpone a decision on whether to ask voters if medical marijuana facilities should be banned in unincorporated El Paso County. But the all-Republican board made it clear at the end of an eight-hour session that some action will be taken at its Aug. 26 meeting to further regulate medical marijuana businesses. That action may include a referral of the question to the ballot, a decision by the board itself, as well as the possibility of "grandfathering in" roughly 21 medical marijuana businesses in operation before a state-imposed moratorium went into effect on July 1. [continues 353 words]
It Will Bring in $600,000-Plus This Year Medical marijuana may be the best hope for the grass in our parks. Most in Colorado Springs are holding their breath and praying for continued rain, as recession-era budget cuts have resulted in a reduction in the city's ability to irrigate. We can't depend on rain, which can be scarce, but we can depend on revenue from medical marijuana sales. So far this year, the city has collected $327,500 in sales tax revenue from medical marijuana sales alone. By the end of the year, the city will likely collect more than $600,000. It's chicken feed, relative to the size of the budget. But it's substantial, relative to the needs of grass in our parks. [continues 413 words]
Medical marijuana has Colorado Springs seeing green. The June sales of the green leafy substance and marijuana-infused products like brownies generated nearly $51,500 in sales tax revenue. It's a record high -- and a 21 percent increase from the month before. Still, it's a miniscule bit of the $10.5 million the city collected for all June sales. Since January 2009, the city has pocketed nearly $327,500 in sales tax revenue from the sale of medical marijuana and marijuana-laced products. [continues 158 words]
County commissioners will consider three medical marijuana items at their weekly board meeting Thursday, including whether to ask voters in November if marijuana-related businesses should be banned in unincorporated El Paso County. Commissioner Amy Lathen, who represents eastern El Paso County, said: "The right place for resolution of the issue is on the ballot. I trust the people." Commissioner Wayne Williams,who represents the northern part of the county, agreed. "Given the way the state Legislature structured the law, the appropriate thing to do is let voters make the decision." [continues 469 words]
A Desperate Case Against Medical Pot Profit pays for compassion. Yet profits are demonized, and lately they've been used to malign the medical marijuana trade as something sinister and lacking in compassion. The assumption is that if one sells a drug for financial gain, the seller cares about money and not sick people. The latest use of this weird myth comes from Kevin Merrill, special agent in charge for the Denver office of the Drug Enforcement Agency. Merrill gave the Associated Press a statement that associates profits with criminals. [continues 452 words]
The Colorado Springs City Council is getting impatient to implement rules that would govern the zoning of medical marijuana dispensaries and related businesses. Saying the city is turning into the Wild West of the medical marijuana industry, council members said they want to get land-use regulations on the books as soon as possible. "We don't need ... people spinning arrows on our streets directing people to dispensaries," Councilman Tom Gallagher said during Monday's council meeting. "Dispensaries are only available to people that are registered patients, OK? That's a very small percentage of the general public, so we don't need to do American Furniture Warehouse kind of advertising for a small number of people." [continues 327 words]
A medical marijuana dispensary owner has filed notice that he intends to sue the Colorado Springs Police Department over what he claims was the illegal seizure of $14,000. Doctor's Orders and co-owner Robert Pooler plan to ask for $120,000 in damages from the city. The money, proceeds from Pooler's medical marijuana business, was confiscated from him during a traffic stop. Pooler contends his car was searched illegally on June 30 after an officer observed a near collision between Pooler's car and another vehicle, said Sean McAllister, Pooler's attorney. [continues 318 words]
Less Prohibition Begets Law and Order Opponents of medical marijuana dispensaries want more prohibition, even though less would get rid of the stores. The struggling campaign to ban medical marijuana stores in Colorado Springs will almost certainly fail. Petition organizers market the cause with an odd website that oozes desperation and hyperbole. The "call to action" section of letusvotecos.org says: "The medical marijuana industry is taking over Colorado Springs and El Paso County and it's time we did something about it. Let's do it for our children! " (Emphasis theirs). [continues 425 words]
El Paso County commissioners are on the verge of putting a marijuana business ban on the November ballot, and may even take a swing at imposing the ban themselves. Three commissioners, Amy Lathen, Dennis Hisey and Wayne Williams, said after a daylong meeting today that they would like to see a ballot measure on the ban referred to voters. The three are also mulling, but are less likely to approve, banning the businesses with a commission vote, which would close dispensaries in unincorporated areas. [continues 471 words]
A group collecting signatures for a proposed initiative to ban medical marijuana dispensaries in Colorado Springs says the effort is a "monumental job," which is why it's also going to try to get the City Council to refer the issue to the November ballot. The group plans to continue to collect the required 11,470 signatures but is calling on city residents to contact council members and ask them to let the voters decide. "We got a two-pronged approach here," Steve Wind, who is leading the petition drive, said today. [continues 254 words]
The medical marijuana industry has taken root in Colorado Springs. The city registered 451 medical marijuana businesses before Wednesday's 5 p.m. deadline, including 176 dispensaries, more than city officials had anticipated. "That's amazing," Mayor Lionel Rivera said. "First, I'm surprised at the number of businesses that applied," he said. "I knew we had a pretty good core, but that's certainly more than I expected based on the reports I've seen from the Police Department and the sales tax office." [continues 365 words]
I am a registered Republican who will be casting my vote for John Hickenlooper in the upcoming election. I find it most troubling that Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis took a very unprincipled stand at the recent "law love fest" held with Dan May and Terry Maketa. McInnis showed his lack of logic and integrity by his willingness to propose horrible policy in order to gain favor with a small subset of voters. Medical marijuana was approved by Colorado citizens a decade ago. HB1284 was voted on and passed by our elected officials six weeks ago. [continues 109 words]
What did Moses do after kneeling by the burning bush? "He smoked it," said the Rev. Roger Christie, who gave a lecture Tuesday at Penrose Library on ingesting marijuana to heighten religious experience. "Moses was healed by the burning bush," said Christie, who said he believes the holy bush is one of hundreds of references in the Bible to cannabis, the plant used to make marijuana. Christie, a Hawaiian resident who founded the Hawaii Cannabis Ministry a decade ago, has started five cannabis churches in the United States, including one in Nederland, about a three-hour drive from the Pikes Peak region. [continues 355 words]
An initiative to outlaw medical marijuana dispensaries in the city of Colorado Springs moved closer to appearing on the November ballot. The city's Initiative Review Committee signed off on the proposal Friday after recommending minor changes. The controversial proposal will go to the city's title-setting board next. I am extremely confident that we will be able to get 14,000 signatures plus=94 to place the initiative on the ballot, said Steven Wind, one of three Colorado Springs residents backing the petition. [continues 368 words]
How Individual Rights Protect Commerce City Councilman and lawyer Darryl Glenn makes sound policy statements much of the time. Yet, he's the latest to repeat a myth about medical marijuana that's promulgated mostly by a small group of prosecutors, former prosecutors and Attorney General John Suthers. "The issue is the dispensaries because that's the part that's ambiguous under (Amendment 20, which legalized medical marijuana)," Glenn told Gazette city government reporter Daniel Chacon. It's not ambiguous at all. Amendment 20 says: "'Medical use' means the acquisition, possession, production, use, or transportation of marijuana or paraphernalia..." [continues 409 words]
Outspoken former Fountain City Councilman Al Lender claims he was hit in the face Tuesday night by a councilman during a confrontation over Lender's plan to grow medical marijuana. Lender, who was voted out of office in 2005 and has sued the city for slander, accused Harold Thompson of striking him in the face with his forearm and elbow during a break in the council meeting. Lender said he will pursue assault charges against Thompson, who could not immediately be reached for comment. [continues 207 words]
In the wake of the Colorado Legislature's action on medicinal marijuana, everything remains as hazy as a frat house circa 1978. Gov. Bill Ritter has not yet signed HB1284, which codifies sharp limits on the constitutional right created in 2000. No one thinks Ritter will veto the bill. Whether the law will ever be allowed to take effect is another matter entirely. A coalition of about a dozen attorneys has been meeting regularly to plot strategy. While the coalition hasn't settled on when it will act, "we definitely will file for an injunction," Denver attorney Jessica Corry said. [continues 340 words]
Claudia Varas moved to Colorado Springs from Florida four years ago to raise her three kids in a conservative bubble. "In Florida, it is a very happy, party state," Varas said. "I didn't think it was the right atmosphere for children." Little did she know she was arriving at the dawn of the new age of the Rocky Mountain high. She wouldn't have moved here, Varas said, had she known about Amendment 20, which legalized medical marijuana 10 years ago. Usage was rare until last year when federal authorities announced they would not enforce pot laws in Colorado. Ever since, more than 100 pot shops opened around town. [continues 553 words]
Amendment 20 of the Colorado constitution allows for the use medical marijuana. This is not something that is a game or a chess match to see who can checkmate who first. This amendment gave some citizens of Colorado a new lease on life. We also felt that there were many citizens who could benefit from the medicinal use of marijuana and to date the state has issued over 60,000 registry cards. This has created a backlog of at least six months, but because there are temporary cards given out, there are approximately 100,000 Coloradans who are able to purchase medicine throughout the state. There are an estimated 110 dispensaries in the Springs alone, according to the Office of Vital Statistics and Medical Marijuana Registry. [continues 139 words]
Medical marijuana retailers, look out. You are not paranoid from a contact high. They really are out to get you and will do their best to put you out of business. Your trade annoys and frightens some of our state's most dedicated, loyal and respected law enforcement professionals. Any doubt of that vanished Wednesday, after the Colorado Springs Police Department conducted warranted searches of seven medical marijuana dispensaries. The raids, which resulted in no immediate arrests, came one day after the Colorado Legislature approved sweeping regulations to the medical marijuana trade that go beyond the type of time, place and manner restrictions that courts permit governments to impose on constitutional rights of individuals. Included in the bill is an unconstitutional provision that would allow cities and counties to forbid medical marijuana dispensaries. Be assured that all city and county officials in Colorado will come under pressure to outlaw dispensaries. [continues 388 words]
MEXICO CITY- After 40 years, the United States' war on drugs has cost $1 trillion and hundreds of thousands of lives, and for what? Drug use is rampant and violence even more brutal and widespread. Even U.S. drug czar Gil Kerlikowske concedes the strategy hasn't worked. "In the grand scheme, it has not been successful," Kerlikowske told The Associated Press. "Forty years later, the concern about drugs and drug problems is, if anything, magnified, intensified." This week President Obama promised to "reduce drug use and the great damage it causes" with a new national policy that he said treats drug use more as a public health issue and focuses on prevention and treatment. [continues 2128 words]
It looks like one of the hotly debated issues in the Colorado General Assembly this month will be medical marijuana. According to news report Senator Chris Romer of Denver is leading the charge to highly (over) regulate growers and dispensaries. He claims there are too many dispensaries and a criminal element in the business. He first proposed charging dispensaries a fee between $10,000 and $35,000. "To get the thugs and the knuckleheads out of the business." Now he has lowered that fee to between $7,500 and $18,000. He wants to weed out operators who may have criminal ties. [continues 246 words]
The Colorado Senate is on the verge of foolishly adopting a medical marijuana bill that may transport parts of Colorado back to the days when pot was a street drug that enriched only criminals. Today, because of a constitutional amendment enacted by Colorado voters in 2000, criminal dealers of marijuana are struggling. That's because they must compete with above-board medical marijuana dispensaries that rent space on Main Street and are more than willing to pay taxes and fees and obey laws. Dispensary owners have clamored for reasonable regulation in order to keep the riffraff competition at bay. [continues 425 words]
Legislators May Not Undo a Constitutional Right The Senate Judiciary Committee wisely rejected one odd proposal Monday that sought to allow only individuals, not stores, to sell medical marijuana. Attorney General John Suthers supported the measure, along with some prosecutors, and it's a fair bet the constitutional rights of citizens to cultivate, buy and sell marijuana may come under continued assault until the legislature adjourns. Expect some legislators and lawyers to speak mumbo jumbo, saying dispensaries are illegal. They'll tell us how a city council or county board of commissioners has some mysterious right to ban cultivation and commercial sales. No matter what they say, the state constitution clearly has more authority. It directly protects the cultivation and sale of medical marijuana. Amendment 20 says (emphasis added by Gazette): "'Medical use' means the acquisition, possession, production, use, or transportation of marijuana..." [continues 223 words]
Making a business out of growing and selling marijuana is tougher than it used to be. Many of the thousands of people who attended the first Colorado Springs Medical Cannabis Expo found that out Sunday. They were bombarded with information about laws, zoning, restrictions and up-front costs. "There's a lot more to it than what I had thought," said Loretta Duran, who had hoped to grow marijuana on her family ranch and sell it to dispensaries. She found out Sunday that she's not allowed to grow marijuana where she lives. [continues 270 words]
Parts of Colorado's growing medical marijuana industry remain shrouded in smoke, including who can sell the marijuana and how it can be distributed. But much is clear. Legally obtained marijuana can get users fired, jailed or turned down for foster parent jobs. Restrictions on medical marijuana use abound, even as dispensaries sprout up in nearly every neighborhood in Colorado Springs and as the state processes 1,000 applications per day for legal marijuana use. High at work? Experts say users can be fired, even if they use marijuana legally. [continues 946 words]
Robert Melamede first used marijuana at age 16 - just as "a goof," he said. "It was fun," he said. "You'd laugh, you'd do silly things." These days, though, he's quite serious about marijuana and what he sees as its myriad benefits. Melamede, a biology professor at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, is president and CEO of Cannabis Science, "an emerging pharmaceutical cannabis company." The startup, which is looking to establish its offices in the Springs, has about 10 employees, including a lab director. The company's goal: to tap into the growing use of medical marijuana in Colorado and elsewhere by developing cannabis-based medicines. (Cannabis is the botanical name for the plant that marijuana comes from.) [continues 1154 words]
Dear Attorney General Holder: The Colorado Springs Gazette, Colorado's second largest daily newspaper, respectfully joins four Colorado politicians who wrote to ask that you rein in your Drug Enforcement Administration officers in Colorado. They've acted with disrespect for the voters of Colorado to undermine our state's constitutional right to buy, sell, produce and consume medical marijuana. Their actions have undermined sincere efforts by state and local politicians to achieve responsible medical marijuana regulation As you know, Colorado voters amended their state constitution in 2000 to allow for medical marijuana. That means law enforcement cannot interfere with the lawful growth, distribution or sale of marijuana intended for medical use. [continues 548 words]
A decade after Colorado voters approved medical marijuana, it's suddenly big business. The quickly growing industry could boost a still-ailing economy, supporters say -- but it has raised challenges for local and state leaders as they seek to place limits on it. Amendment 20, approved by Colorado voters in 2000, authorized patients and their caregivers to possess a limited amount of marijuana but did not provide a way for them to get it. Patients were left with the options of growing their own or buying it on the black market. The medical marijuana dispensaries that are popping up across the city hope to fill that void. [continues 1547 words]
Grappling with the least important, most imitation crisis in years, The El Paso County Commission voted unanimously Thursday to allow medical marijuana sellers to operate in specified commercial zones. Commissioners, some reluctantly, decided to treat marijuana retailers as they do liquor stores, though with less on-sight scrutiny. Colorado voters approved medical marijuana 10 years ago. It's in the state Constitution, which trumps local authority. A constitution restricts the powers of government, and the Colorado Constitution specifically prohibits government from impeding the sale of medical marijuana. That leaves room only for the reasonable time, place and manner restrictions applied to other businesses. It's really that simple. [continues 592 words]
As a conservative myself, I found George Will's editorial on Dec. 8 concerning medical marijuana to be confusing and misleading. This surprises me, since Will is an intellectual conservative who usually searches out the truth. Nothing about this article was truthful, but it was filled with inuendos and presuppositions. While commenting on Colorado's medical marijuana laws, he begins by calling the dispensaries "fiction." He believes that "most really just want to smoke pot" instead of using the weed to help alleviate pain and different ailments. So, where are his accurate statistics about "most." How does he come to that conclusion? [continues 195 words]
Inside the green neon sign, which is shaped like a marijuana leaf, is a red cross. The cross serves the fiction that most transactions in the store -- which is what it really is -- involve medicine. The U.S. Justice Department recently announced that federal laws against marijuana would not be enforced for possession of marijuana that conforms to states' laws. In 2000, Colorado legalized medical marijuana. Since Justice's decision, the average age of the 400 persons a day seeking "prescriptions" at Colorado's multiplying medical marijuana dispensaries has fallen precipitously. Many new customers are college students. [continues 619 words]
Our daughter, Molly, was born with cerebral palsy and has always been in a wheelchair. Now 37, she has been having a hard time trying to be able to remain in her wheelchair. Her muscle spasms have caused her hip to dislocate and it is painful to sit. She has had three operations in the past six weeks and is on Vicodin and Valium, indefinitely. Both drugs are physically addictive, their affect is lessened with use, and both have drastic withdrawal complications. Her doctor says pot is far better for both its pain and muscle relaxing properties as there is no down side. We plan to get her certified as a medical marijuana patient and make it legal for her to use this herb. [continues 124 words]
Police Say Marijuana Rules Not Clear Colorado Springs police accept that medical marijuana is "here to stay," in the words of spokesman Lt. David Whitlock. But recent statements from some of the top cops in El Paso County make medical marijuana supporters wonder: Are police and prosecutors pushing to extinguish medical pot at a time when federal authorities appear closer than ever to recognizing it as a legitimate medicine? Brian Vicente, of Sensible Colorado, a prominent Colorado medical marijuana advocacy group, said many medical pot growers support the city's recent call for "common-sense" regulations for marijuana dispensaries, such as limiting advertisements and keeping them away from schools. [continues 919 words]
Ten more Americans died this week in a senseless and pointless war in Afghanistan, fighting an enemy with allegedly supernatural powers that is impossible to kill. I'm talking about the opium poppy. Three DEA agents and seven American servicemen lost their lives in a helicopter crash, returning from an unspecified military action against suspected narcotics traffickers. My heart goes out to their families and loved ones. But I'm glad I didn't know them personally. If I did, it would be unforgivable of me to call their deaths tragic and unnecessary. [continues 660 words]
Booze or pot? For a group of about 50 students at Tuesday's "healthy choices fair" at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, the choice is clear: Pot is the lesser of two evils. The UCCS chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy protested the annual fair because members claimed school officials refused to make available their information about "the relative harm" of marijuana versus alcohol and instead promoted "responsible alcohol use" at the event. "I've seen how college students like to have fun, and every study proves cannabis is far better for you than alcohol. We'd like to educate students on this safer way of partying," said senior Stephanie Morphet, president of the student group, which formed this semester. [continues 491 words]
Gazette editorials are sometimes accused of being Utopian or ivory-tower in nature because they push ideas critics say are unworkable in the modern world. Sometimes that charge is true, as these pages strive to hold government and individuals to principled behavior, to provide a kind of touchstone to remind people of their rights and responsibilities. One subject on which we're accused of promoting unworkable ideas is the war on drugs. Well-meaning people charge that drug legalization, or even decriminalization, would lead to an explosion of drug use, and cost millions in lost productivity. Supporters of legalization, on the other hand, believes such a move would be a net benefit to society as users could be kept out of the criminal justice system, lessening the need for expensive prisons. The debate has been going on for years with no real answers in sight. That's no longer the case. [continues 579 words]
