So, Denver tried to legalize pot yesterday.

lisarea · #1 11-02-2005, 06:33 PM

Because Colorado, due to a typo, votes a week earlier than the rest of the country once every fourteen years. (Some dumbassed amendment passed in 1992 left out the 'after the first Monday' clause after 'the first Tuesday' for elections in odd-numbered years. Ha ha! Stupid, but accidentally cool!)

So, anyways, a bunch of pretty good stuff happened. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by some of the results.

Among them, Denver tried to legalize possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for anyone 21 or older. It's not going to STICK or anything, because they're saying they'll still enforce state and federal laws, but still.

I've been suspecting that something like this would pass for quite a while. TWICE, we've had statewide votes on medical marijuana, and it passed easily both times. (The first time, opponents successfully challenged it after the ballots were printed but before the election, so people voted, but the result wasn't binding. The second time, it just passed.)

But that was medical marijuana, not recreational. So it remained to be seen what the popular opinion was on that. Until last night, that is. 54 to 46 percent, which is nothing to sneeze at. (Although, interestingly, they were reporting that percentage as 'a close race' for that initiative, but the exact same percentages on other issues, with fewer votes counted, were called as final.)

So, yeah. Marijuana is still illegal at the state and federal level, but it's pretty clear that popular support for criminalization is waning. Waning. After decades of our tax dollars being spent to convince us that it should be illegal. After they've sent armed police officers into our public schools to recount silly urban legends and perpetuate all manner of informal fallacies to our children, all to convince them that drugs are illegal because they're bad, and they're bad because they're illegal.

And still, most people in Denver, at least, aren't buying it.

Denver is more liberal than the state as a whole, so I'm sure, once you start counting in the farmers and shit, that the numbers would be different, but when, if ever, will we get a chance to find out?

And how many times are the people just going to sit back and let their own government tell them that they don't give a shit what we think?

DO I HAVE TO GO DOOR TO DOOR HANDING OUT TORCHES AND PITCHFORKS, OR WHAT?

Sock Puppet · #2 11-02-2005, 06:57 PM

Yes, I think you do. You can skip my house 'cause I have a few gardening implements that will serve the purpose.

Seriously, the War on Drugs won't stop its steamrolling over human rights, or its sole support of the black market that creates all the violence and opportunity for organized crime, until we find a way to stop the drug warriors from successfully lobbying to keep their jobs. They're doing a better job of maintaining the status quo than opponents are doing at effecting any useful change.

Godless Dave · #3 11-03-2005, 06:35 AM

Lisarea, you hippy.

lisarea · #4 11-03-2005, 07:10 AM

I'm not a hippy. I just resent my tax dollars going to feed and shelter hippies in our nice clean prisons. Let them fester in their "crash pads" and eat out of trashcans as God intended.

Godless Dave · #5 11-03-2005, 10:03 AM

Lisarea =

livius drusus · #6 11-03-2005, 01:15 PM

hippy

lisarea

beyelzu · #7 11-03-2005, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lisarea

I'm not a hippy. I just resent my tax dollars going to feed and shelter hippies in our nice clean prisons. Let them fester in their "crash pads" and eat out of trashcans as God intended.

this should go in that book that shea wants you to right,

best line about hippies ever.

livius drusus · #8 11-03-2005, 01:28 PM

True that, and now it's added to the quote generator so she can't deny we saw it here first.

Godless Dave · #9 11-03-2005, 03:20 PM

All kidding of lisarea aside (for now), I think this is how prohibition is going to be defeated, from the bottom up. Sure it's mostly symbolic - although the Denver PD could opt not to enforce state and federal pot laws - but if another city does it, then another, and then up to the state level, who knows? We're certainly not going to get any traction by starting at the federal level.

Anyway, I dedicate this next hit to the voters of the city of Denver. Ahhh.

viscousmemories · #10 11-03-2005, 04:32 PM

Pot will only be legalized when it's possible to vote without leaving your chair.

Seriously though it's insane that you can go to prison for posession in some parts of this country while in other parts of this country it's a civil infraction with a small fine. I grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where until 1990 possession of marijuana carried a $5 fine. In 1990 it went up to $25 for a first offense, $50 for the second and $100 for the third.

beyelzu · #11 11-03-2005, 04:56 PM

i want to move to ann arbor,

uh, for the climate and shit

Godless Dave · #12 11-03-2005, 06:02 PM

Housing costs = $$$$$$$$$$$

lisarea · #13 11-03-2005, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Godless Dave

All kidding of lisarea aside (for now),

Thank you. My self-esteem was getting hurt!

Quote:

I think this is how prohibition is going to be defeated, from the bottom up. Sure it's mostly symbolic - although the Denver PD could opt not to enforce state and federal pot laws - but if another city does it, then another, and then up to the state level, who knows? We're certainly not going to get any traction by starting at the federal level.

True that. What I'm wondering is how much are people going to take? How long are people going to sit back and take it when the feds intentionally step in and subvert the will of the people? The federal laws will need to be repealed at some point.

They've had more than enough opportunity, and access to big stinking piles of cash and public resources, with which to make their case, and people still aren't buying it.

How long are people going to put up with having their government act like it owns them, rather than the other way around?