Being First to Legalize™ Carries a Lot of
Responsibility to Get it Right!
Many longtime cannabis activists in Colorado opposed
the
language in A64 because they feared it gave
too much power to the government to control marijuana smokers.
Now that the initiative has passed and it has become part of the
Colorado Constitution, it is the duty of all cannabis activists
to make sure the law is implemented in a way that endangers as few
people as possible.
The main danger is that A64 will set up a situation
where there will be "good" pot smokers vs. "bad" smokers.
The "good" pot smokers
will FUND the first pot cops in the country, the
Colorado Marijuana Criminal Enforcement Division (MCED)
This rendering is based on the
actual badge of the
Colorado Medical Marijuana Criminal Enforcement Division.
The danger is the MCED will use this new funding
source to go after the "bad" pot smokers.
In a true legalization scenario, we would ALL
be "good" pot smokers.
Cannabis is a far safer substance than alcohol.
No one has ever died of a cannabis overdose in over 10,000 years
of constant human testing. It needs very little regulation and SHOULD NOT BE COMARED TO ALCOHOL.
Under A64, the "good" pot smokers are
those with one ounce, three flowering plants and who are willing
to submit to "strict" regulations and the "bad"
pot smokers are those with one gram over one ounce, those with seven
plants or those who do not want to submit to state over-regulation.
We have already seen this happen with the medical
marijuana industry, and it will happen with the A64-style cannabis
industry.
DON'T BE LULLED INTO A
FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY!!!
A64 provides PROVIDES NO PROTECTION for: - those with 1.00001 ounces of cannabis or more
- those with more than 3 flowering plants
- those under 18 years old, who comprise most marijuana
arrests in Colorado
Also, you can still:
- have your children taken away for cannabis use
- lose your job
- lose your health insurance
- be arrested for DUI-THC
--- A64 does NOT create a right to use
marijuana ---
Fear not! For those of you who want to see
cannabis taken out of the hands of the Department of Revenue
armed regulatory agents and end the long compliance nightmare
that is making it impossible for anyone but the very rich
to participate in Colorado's highly-regulated cannabis industry
(oligopoly),
the First to Legalize™ campaign is working to write a
"true legalization" ballot initiative that will
guarantee more reasonable regulations. Time has expired for
the 2012 ballot, so we will start working towards the 2016
ballot.
Let's give the voters of Colorado what they
want -
REAL LEGALIZATION IN 2016!
Does Colorado need an extra $18 million in sales
tax?
Do you want to stop the funding of illegal drug
gangs?
Do you want to make your community safer?
Then it's time to end Prohibition -- again!
Practical Cannabis Regulation Helps Medical Patients
For medical cannabis patients, the First to Legalize™ Constitutional
Amendment is an important step in fixing Amendment 20, Colorado's
flawed medical marijuana law that was passed by voters in 2000.
Like Amendment 64, Amendment 20 was poorly-written by out-of-state
interests and has allowed the state to take over the medical marijuana
program to the point where there is now a new branch of law enforcement
dedicated to fingerprinting and videotaping patients and tracking
every gram of cannabis from "seed to sale." Citizens can
write a better initiative that will allow all adult Coloradans to
have safe access to cannabis, thus protecting the rights of sick
people to also have unfettered, safe access. This includes
the right to use cannabis on probation.
This website and cause is dedicated to Jack
Herer (June 18, 1939 - April 15, 2010). Jack was the author
of The Emperor Wears No Clothes and the founder of the modern
cannabis and hemp re-legalization movement. Since cannabis is one
of the safest substances on the planet, he believed there should
be no unreasonable restrictions on cannabis cultivation and use
by adults. His freedom-based model rejects the sin taxes and over-regulation
promoted in law enforcement models. Cannabis should only be subject
to normal sales tax, like any other herbal product.
What is a citizen's ballot initiative? A ballot initiative is a citizen-initiated proposal for a new
law. In Colorado, the General Assembly creates most new laws, but
the citizens also retain the power to bring new laws directly to
a vote of the people through the ballot initiative. The ballot initiative
process was designed so that citizens could bring forth proposals
that are too controversial or unpopular for the General Assembly
to tackle. The process starts by the citizens getting together to
write the law. Then they collect signatures on petitions. If enough
signatures are collected (about 86,000 signatures of Colo. registered
voters are required), then the law goes on the ballot to be voted
on by the people.
The campaign for A64 in 2012 cost $3 million and 99% of it was
funded by out-of-state interests who want to take over the Colorado
cannabis industry. The First to Legalize™ campaign will be
a true grassroots campaign with local Colorado support.
