cannabisnews.com: Pot Measure Put on City Ballot





Pot Measure Put on City Ballot
Posted by CN Staff on August 23, 2005 at 08:11:44 PT
By Lou Kilzer, Rocky Mountain News
Source: Rocky Mountain News
Colorado -- Denver City Council members held their collective noses Monday and approved putting marijuana legalization on November's ballot. They had no choice. The measure's backers had collected enough signatures to force the matter on the ballot - but city law still said the council had to give its approval. Members lost no time in teeing off on the measure.
Councilwoman Jeanne Robb said smoking three marijuana joints was equal to smoking three packs of cigarettes a day. She said it also kills brain cells. Councilman Charlie Brown warned that political opponents would be "lower than a snake's belly" if they tried to use the vote against members. Brown and others noted that almost 99 percent of marijuana cases in Denver are prosecuted under state law. The city ordinance would not change that, they said. If there is strong opposition to the measure, it wasn't evident at the City Council meeting Monday night. Six people asked to speak at the announced public hearing - all in favor of the legalization initiative. Dr. Robert Melamede, former chairman of the biology department at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, said he's smoked marijuana for 41 years. He said marijuana-like chemicals occur naturally in the body and that the real thing might well save brains cells while slowing aging. After the meeting, Melamede called some council members "flat earthers" for their alleged lack of knowledge about the substance. The measure would legalize possession of an ounce or less of marijuana by adults. The supporters' main argument Monday was that smoking marijuana was better than drinking alcohol. That line of reasoning did not appear to impress council members. Councilman Michael Hancock spoke out the loudest against the measure. He said he has seen firsthand that marijuana use leads to harder drugs and can be devastating. Also Monday, the council reversed itself and voted not to put on the November ballot a measure that would make the city clerk's office an elected position and give it responsibility over city elections. The measure passed on an 8-4 vote on first reading a week earlier, but support has slipped since then. Council President Rosemary Rodriguez decided to take the matter off the council's to-do list and spend more time researching the issue. Also Monday, the president of the Denver Barbarians Rugby Club issued an apology for team members who were accused of acting like, well, barbarians on a flight back to Denver after a tournament. Paul Hoskins said the team will work at a fundraiser for crime victims. Team members were accused of rowdy behavior on the flight, including allegedly urinating in the galley and on the walls of a lavatory. There was a final twist at the City Council meeting Monday. For the first time, a sitting U.S. senator made an appearance before the council. U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar was there to promote the new energy bill passed by Congress.Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News (CO)Author:  Lou Kilzer, Rocky Mountain NewsPublished: August 23, 2005Copyright: 2005 Denver Publishing Co.Contact: letters rockymountainnews.comWebsite: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/Related Articles:Denver Pot Vote Mostly Symbolichttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21013.shtmlGroup To Ask Denver Voters To Legalize Pothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20656.shtml 
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on August 25, 2005 at 09:31:57 PT
Related Article from The Rocky Mountain News
Pot Law Makes Ballot: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21062.shtml
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Comment #10 posted by Hope on August 24, 2005 at 02:45:52 PT
"held their collective noses"
That makes me mad. But, however we have to get them across the line to a saner policy, so be it..."kicking and screaming"..."holding their collective noses"...however it has to be done.
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Comment #9 posted by mayan on August 23, 2005 at 17:21:40 PT
Councildolts
Councilwoman Jeanne Robb said smoking three marijuana joints was equal to smoking three packs of cigarettes a day. She said it also kills brain cells.Sorry,Jeanne,but those myths were debunked years ago. Should these councildolts be campaigning against a ballot initiative? Shouldn't they just let the people decide?
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Comment #8 posted by afterburner on August 23, 2005 at 15:05:26 PT
pseudo serious
"Give the people bread and circuses." --Julius Caesar"Only FDA-approved gruel is fit for human consumption, and circuses are out of the question (people might 'dance and sing, get up and do their thing')." --G. W. Bush"Let them eat cake." --Marie Antoinette"Only my base gets to eat cake." --G. W. Bush
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Comment #7 posted by billos on August 23, 2005 at 13:31:49 PT
........Sam...........
Excellent link. I wonder how many of the Bushies would really believe it with all their hearts should there be some way to present it in a pseudo serious light on some channel like Fox.
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Comment #6 posted by runruff on August 23, 2005 at 09:26:50 PT:
Oh brother! 
Sam,I'm not sure it is good for me to laugh this much so early.
My jaws now ache. My sides now hurt. My hearts going pitter pat. Funnier than Felix. Felix the Cat. Thanks for that!Namaste
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on August 23, 2005 at 09:21:10 PT
Sam
Oh that was good.
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Comment #4 posted by Sam Adams on August 23, 2005 at 09:16:00 PT
on Bush & talking
Someone recently forwarded this to me, very funny, I apologize if it's old news & you've already seen it-http://gprime.net/video.php/presidentialspeechalist
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Comment #3 posted by sam adams on August 23, 2005 at 09:14:50 PT
foul odors
I have to hold my nose every time I read this shoddy newspaper.
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on August 23, 2005 at 09:14:47 PT
runruff
A silver foot! That's really funny!
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Comment #1 posted by runruff on August 23, 2005 at 09:10:21 PT:
Pardon me if I bust a smile.
Dr. Melamede must have been reading C/News and caught
one of my post. Maybe not but to compare these lunkheads 
to flat earth believers is right on.I was remembering a quote this morning by Ann Richards 
that started cracking me up. She said, "George W. Bush 
was born with a silver foot in his mouth". Now is that funny or what?Namaste
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