I REALLY didn't see this coming...

[William from NOLA]

Denver Voters OK Marijuana Possession By JON SARCHE, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 38 minutes ago



DENVER - Residents of the Mile High City have voted to legalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana for adults. Authorities, though, said state possession laws will be applied instead.

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With 100 percent of precincts reporting early Wednesday, 54 percent, or 56,001 voters, cast ballots for the ordinance, while 46 percent, or 48,632 voters, voted against it.

Under the measure, residents over 21 years old could possess up to an ounce of marijuana.

"We educated voters about the facts that marijuana is less harmful to the user and society than alcohol," said Mason Tvert, campaign organizer for SAFER, or Safer Alternatives For Enjoyable Recreation. "To prohibit adults from making the rational, safer choice to use marijuana is bad public policy."

Bruce Mirken of the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project said he hoped the approval will launch a national trend toward legalizing a drug whose enforcement he said causes more problems than it cures.

Seattle, Oakland, Calif., and a few college towns already have laws making possession the lowest law enforcement priority.

The Denver proposal seemed to draw at least as much attention for supporters' campaign tactics as it did for the question of legalizing the drug.

Tvert argued that legalizing marijuana would reduce consumption of alcohol, which he said leads to higher rates of car accidents, domestic and street violence and crime.

The group criticized Mayor John Hickenlooper for opposing the proposal, noting his ownership of a popular brewpub. It also said recent violent crimes — including the shootings of four people last weekend — as a reason to legalize marijuana to steer people away from alcohol use.

Those tactics angered local officials and some voters. Opponents also said it made no sense to prevent prosecution by Denver authorities while marijuana charges are most often filed under state and federal law.

The measure would not affect the medical marijuana law voters approved in 2000. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that medical marijuana laws in Colorado and nine other states would not protect licensed users from federal prosecution.

Also Tuesday, voters in the ski resort town of Telluride rejected a proposal to make possession of an ounce or less of marijuana by people 18 or older the town's lowest law enforcement priority. The measure was rejected on a vote of 308-332.

Yahoo News link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051102/ap_ ... _marijuana

[Justin from Detroit1]

I totally agree. I would rather have everyone smoke marijuana then drink alcohol. You don't hear of people getting high then beating their wives.

[Bwcad1]

dont smoke never have never will to many things that could get screwed up. if it was legal that would be a diffrent story. dont have a problem with people who do i drink instead not legal either proabably worse but thats just me.

[two4fifteen]

i agree. First off because there is more extra chemicals and such in cigarettes that is terrible for your health than marijuana. I had a chemistry teacher in high school who used to be a chemical engineer tell us much better it was to smoke weed than cigarettes. Second, like justin said, people get wayyy more fucked up and do stupid shit (sorry) off of alcohol than weed. Im not saying its great for you, but i believe it is better than substances that are already legalized and abused every day.

[JeremyC]

Yeah I agree. Granted I don't any more, I would rather smoke than drink. Especially comming from a construction worker point of view. You go to any comercial job site, and you have tweekers, smokers, and drinkers. Out of the three, I would much rather work with someone that is smoking than any of the others.

I have seen people get into fights with a street signs once they get a little to much alchol in them, but the same people after a few bong hits, are laid back and easy going, more like there normal personality.

Then there is the whole drinking and driving side of things. I know numerous people on this web site have lost friends to drinking and driving, myself included. So who here has lost a friend to smoking and driving, I know I haven't. Don't get me wrong smoking and driving isn't the best thing to do, but I will say it isn't as bad as drinking and driving.

[Ryan from Ohio]

Both are stupid things. Both alter your perception. Both have more risks and potential losses and absolutely NO gains...

I do neither.

Furthermore they can not supercede the Federal Goverment. Maybe the local cop wont bust you, but the Feds can and will... I hope they get their school funding taken away. They will change REAL quickly...

[sinister audio]

actually the government made illegal drugs illegal agaisnt the constitution and i saw a show on it once and they said if they would of knowen what happened after they did that they never would of done it. the government just wanted it illegal because they couldnt control it and tax it so thats what they did. it really bit them in the ass.

but it dosnt matter to me if its legal or not some of my best friends smoke and drink but id rather have them smoke.

[dmeyer07]

I personaly feel smoking is much less harmful then drinking...

I'm all for the legalizing and taxing of marijuana, i do smoke occasionally, and i also drink once in a great while...

I'm alot safer high than i am drunk, same goes for many people.

Both are bad things, both alter your ways of thinking, reaction,etc.. but of the two weed should have been legalized before drinkin

-David

[Jszar]

I don't mean to intrude on anyone elses beliefs...it's your opinion and I respect it, but:

I feel as though it's not acceptable. I don't understand why people get drunk, sure it feels good every now and then...but personally I hate not being in control of myself, I've been drunk a few times, and it just really isnt that fun. The same applies to being high, though I've never done it, it wouldnt change how I feel.

On the moral side of it, if we as a country allow ourselves to slack on something like this, it will happen again with something else. It's not a matter of the "lesser of two evils" or "crossing a line"...it's a matter of us as a country in a DIRECTION. We should be pursuing better healthier things, there is no glory to claim from being high, you will forget what you did before you wake up the next morning, whereas if you were to invest that time and money in something like and education, or a hobby like car audio...there are rewards you see consitently throughout the rest of your life.

I don't oppose alcohol, weed is another story...it only causes bad things to happen, even medically. I enjoy a good beer, I like beer a lot. But I don't like to get drunk...1 or two beers with a good dinner occasionally is great, nothing more for me though.

[ridr4lif]

^^ Wow Jared, exactly how i feel. I just didnt know exactly how to put it into words.

Its not like one is any better than the other, they are both equally as harmful. I have one friend who gets so drunk (almost every wkend) where he comes home and falls asleep in the shower for 4, yes FOUR hours before his roomate wakes up and has to basically pull him out of the shower.

I "had" another friend who failed out of college b/c of smoking too much weed. He got lazy, didnt go to class, and forgot a lot of sh!t. Failed a bunch of tests.

Sure, like jared said, a beer here or there at dinner is fine. Smoking weed every once in a while is fine too, but each one if used in excess is BAD.