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Amendment 44- Legalization of Marijuana Defeated
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Well, Colorado didn't quite legalize marijuana this time. There were still a ton of votes in favor. I think it is really a matter of time.
It is important to note the counties that did vote in favor of the measure- Boulder County, Summit County (where A Basin, Keystone, Breck, and Copper are), Eagle County (Vail and Beaver Creek), San Juan County (Silverton), Gunnison County (Crested Butte) and Pitkin County (Aspen) were among the many counties who did vote in favor of legalizing weed. I guess it is no surprise that the mountain towns were in favor.
The main opposition came out of El Paso County, where Colorado Springs (the conservative hot bed of the state) is located. Focus on the Family and other bullshit political organizations ran strong campaigns against Amendment 44. Denver (which already legalized marijuana) was split.
I think it really came down to this- When sample surveys of the state of Colorado were taken, the majority of people were in favor of legalizing marijuana. The problem is that people don't get off their asses and vote for what they believe in. I know far too many people here at CU who will have very heated political arguments, but then when it comes time to vote they don't take the initiative to get off their asses and vote for what they claim to believe in. It really pisses me off.
For now, people here in Boulder will still smoke weed and (mostly) get away with it no problem. This goes for the mountain towns too. Hopefully 2-10 years from now marijuana will be legalized in Colorado and elsewhere in the US.
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at least bob beaubreaz didint win.
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i logged on here today for this sole purpose. i don't live in CO but i wanted to know the outcome. and within the next 10 years i hope a majority of the US is legalizing weed.
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Were you really surprised that the kids didn't get off their asses and vote? It's because most of the people who were for 44 are stoners and hippies. Yeah they'll bitch a lot, almost to the extent where you might take them seriously but in the end, they won't do shit about it.
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Which maybe says something about the substance itself. Maybe it's better illegal...maybe we don't need anymore half ass lazy hippies running around contributing very little to our social and economic environment.
Don't get me wrong, when I was younger I smoked more ganj than should be humanly possible. But I think you just grow out of it eventually...
I don't see what the big deal is? Smoke weed in your house, in your car and somewhere secluded...what's the difference if you get to smoke it on Pearl st or on your couch.
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you might be on to something here....
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There's no big deal at all. It's just the way the law is and if people want that to change, they have to take the initiative. Burn outs don't do shit and sadly that's a large part of the people for this amendment. Hold all the protests they want, bitch all they want, it doesn't matter. It only matters at the polls. Maybe someday it'll happen, but I don't see it happening anytime soon.
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the big deal is that if it was legal, every time I light up somewhere other than my room, I don't have to worry about cops rolling up on me
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I think the biggest problem is the scale at which the laws concerning marijuana punish offenders. There are far too many people serving jail time. The harm that is done to these people and their families is far worse than any negative affects of the drug itself and the cost to put and keep people in jail for an extended amount of time are huge.
I really can't get over the hypocrisy in the general public (and especially students) here in Boulder. It is on a level that I have really never witnessed before. So many very opinionated people who bitch and moan but do absolutely nothing politically. There were election polls on campus and all around just off campus. I voted 6 blocks from my house. It took me 10 minutes.
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The no on 44 sucks. has anybody heard the results on question 7 in Nevada? It was a similiar type of drug law reform. I'm hoping for good results from the state that regulates hookers.
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at lest we can still cary up to an ounce and only be charged with a mistaminor
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I voted no on it. People still don't seem to understand what 44 is about. If it were to pass (with the false assumption that federal law doesn't apply), you can poses a small quantity of marijuana, but it would STILL BE ILLEGAL TO SMOKE IT. If you can't smoke such a small amount of it...what else do you do with it? It really accomplishes nothing even if it were to pass.
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It's still a big step. Think about how many kids get caught with weed in their pocket as opposed to smoking it.
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I am fully aware that the federal laws would apply. The reason why it would have been such a big deal is that it would a collective "Fuck You" to the federal government from the citizens of Colorado. It would act as a precedent for action in other states.
And what do you mean such a small amount? One once of weed is a ton! That is more than most people could smoke in 6 months. That's like saying that possessing 300 or so beers is a small amount.
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I tend to think that "fuck you" has little substance unless it were to be pre presented at the federal level. An in all seriousness, apart from smoking, what can you do with an once?
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That's about it. Drug dealing is a serious offense, so maybe a law like that that limits the holder only to enough to use for himself and not to distribute, is a good law.
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...which for the most part is already active within the state's legal system. I just don't see how 44 would bring anything new to the table.
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no shit quinny, you think the federal government is all of a sudden going to wake up one day and everyone is blazing weed on the streets, in front of the cop shop, in cop cars and be completely fine with it? (cause according to you, this is the only case in which u think it's worthwhile) You have to start small and work your way up. With a really conservative government, not very much changes... and big changes take alot of smaller changes over a long period of time with conservatives in office. And honestly, if you are dumb enough to smoke in a sketchy spot and get busted, that is your own problem. It's not that hard to just go somewhere away from any possible authority and smoke.
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If the production of the drug is entierly contanied to the state of Colorado i see no problem...but is that ever the case with drugs? The drugs trade trancends boarders and is by its very nature a dirty and dangerous business. The damage of the drug itself is nothing compared to the damage that the trade inflicts on the inocent bystanders.
So all im saying is that if you want to smoke you need to have a self contained, regulated and managable infastructure that will allow some semblance of control to be mantained.
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You're really naive enough to think 44 would do anything at the federal level? That third party mentality doesn't work the same way on a ballot issue. You already receive a very minor punishment in Colorado for havening an once on your person, and the Denver police force are allowed to handle the said offence at their own discretion. And even if 44 passed and an officer caught you with an once, he can still arrest you if he suspects you have the intent to smoke it. It doesn't solve anything and it will have the same minimal (non-existent) impact on federal law. I have no problem with taking steps to make it legal, but 44 is to small of a step to even be considered "a step."
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I agree that one state saying fuck you to the government isn’t saying a lot, but if we could have 30 states saying fuck you, I think it’s the only way DC would listen. Although I don’t really care about weed being legalized, distributed and taxed on a federal level. I would just like to see more lenient laws around the country regarding possession. Last year I was sent to jail (in MI) and heavily fined over less than an ounce. I know it was my fault and I got caught, but to send me into a cell and to treat me the same way as some of the other people in there who truly deserved to be there seems wrong.
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You're right, federal law proceeds state law. If 44 had passed, it wouldn't really have changed anything for now.
44 didn't pass; however, just having 44 on the ballot made a significant impact. Society has been shown that A LOT of people smoke. People who honestly thought marijuana causes men to rape women (as seen in Reefer Madness) were exposed to truth. Marijuana isn't harmful. It shouldn't be illegal.
We got our foot in the door. This isn't an issue that's going to go away. We will keep on fighting for our right to smoke marijuana; and one day, we'll be able to buy a blueberry skunk hybrid joint at 7-11.
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After being in Amsterdam I hope I never see the day in which smoking and growing ganj is legal. In the Netherlands the legalization of marijuana was a social experiment and I believe a few months ago it was announced that the experiment was a failure. The problem was that so many of the users went on to harder and much more potent drugs and many of the "coffee shops" were being run by organized crime rings.
Keep smoking it in alleys and secluded areas.
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ummm what? haha the cop shop
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i completely agree. yeah i smoke ganj, but you know what i think it would be stupid to legalize it. it raises the prices and causes burnouts who smoke tree, to turn to other drugs like cocaine, heroine, meth etc. personally i think weed should be done in your highschool years maybe a little while after. but i think its just stupid to do at the age of 25+. and the reason it didnt pass as well is, there are A LOT of people under 18 the smoke that couldnt vote too....
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