Colorado marijuana activists, empowered after backing a successful legalization effort in the state, are in the midst of a dialogue about how far to press their success.
At a recent forum, advocates talked about whether the movement should continue to step lightly in Colorado politics — being accommodating toward law enforcement and welcoming of strict regulations — or act like a political powerhouse whose measure garnered more votes than any presidential, gubernatorial or U.S. Senate candidate has ever received in Colorado.
“We have a mandate,” said attorney Christian Sederberg, one of the legalization campaign’s chief organizers. “We need to lead, and we need to flex that muscle — with deference to certain things.”
It is a classic political dilemma: If election wins can be said to grant political capital, how, then, is it best spent?
That is new territory for marijuana-legalization supporters, who have never before won such widespread support for such widespread change. Amendment 64, the initiative that legalized limited possession and retail sales of marijuana in Colorado, passed in 34 of the state’s 64 counties. It won in liberal Denver by more than 90,000 votes and in conservative El Paso County by 10 votes.
Statewide, 1.36 million voters cast their ballot for the amendment.
Buoyed by those figures, lawyer Rob Corry said he believes activists should move aggressively to implement Amendment 64 to what he says is its full extent.
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Complete Article: http://www.denverpost.com/news/marijuana/ci_22060980/
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Author: John Ingold, The Denver Post
Published: November 25, 2012
Copyright: 2012 The Denver Post
Website: http://www.denverpost.com/
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