cannabisnews.com: Voters Could Shift Cops' Pot Priority










  Voters Could Shift Cops' Pot Priority

Posted by CN Staff on October 19, 2007 at 06:30:55 PT
By Mason Tvert 
Source: Denver Post  

Colorado -- Initiated Question 100 is the final item on this year's Denver ballot, and it asks voters whether the Mile High City should designate simple adult marijuana possession its lowest law-enforcement priority. A handful of cities around the country have already adopted similar laws through the initiative process, and so far most of them have been incredibly successful.
Take Seattle for example, where voters approved a "lowest law enforcement priority" measure in 2003. Since then, the city has seen a significant decline in marijuana arrests and prosecutions, and no evident problems. Despite Denver having about 15,000 fewer residents than Seattle, our city arrested more than 23 times as many adults for simple marijuana possession in 2006. In fact, Denver arrested twice as many adults in an average month as Seattle arrested the entire year. Did this make Denver a safer city? Hardly. According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report, Seattle maintained a lower rate of violent crime last year and less than half as many homicides, 42 percent as many rapes, and about 330 fewer aggravated assaults. Clearly, Denver could stand to shift some of its time and attention toward these more pressing issues and away from punishing adults for simply possessing marijuana, a drug that researchers have concluded is far less harmful than alcohol. But for some reason, Denver officials are reluctant to change the way our city does business, even in the wake of their constituents explicitly calling on them to do so. Denver voters approved an initiative in 2005 that amended city ordinances to remove all penalties for private adult marijuana possession. Just prior to that election, Denver City Attorney David Broadwell told the Colorado Statesman that, should the measure pass at the polls, it would be "at the discretion" of Denver decision-makers whether to follow the voters' directive. Unfortunately, Denver decision-makers opted to defy the will of the voters and specifically ordered city police and prosecutors to continue needlessly enforcing the state marijuana possession law in the city. Hence the need for Initiated Question 100.  Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_7216456Source: Denver Post (CO)Author:  Mason TvertPublished: October 18, 2007 Copyright: 2007 The Denver Post CorpWebsite: http://www.denverpost.com/Contact: openforum denverpost.com Related Articles & Web Site:Safer Denverhttp://www.saferdenver.com/False Promise On Pothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23411.shtmlCity Council Puts Pot Issue on Ballothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23289.shtmlReport: Hick, 4 Council Members Smoked Pothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23288.shtml 

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Comment #19 posted by whig on October 20, 2007 at 18:01:10 PT
OverwhelmSam
All of the above, Sam.
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Comment #18 posted by OverwhelmSam on October 20, 2007 at 15:40:40 PT
United We Stand...
I don't understand whig. Do you want the war in Iraq to be terminated, the potential war with Iran to be stopped, and the war on cannabis users to end? What difference does the party make?
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Comment #17 posted by FoM on October 20, 2007 at 12:48:40 PT
Dankhank
Thank you for the link. I started reading it but got busy but I will read it all when I get a little time. It looks really interesting to me.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #16 posted by whig on October 20, 2007 at 11:42:21 PT
mayan
"Zero chance? Then you might as well support Hillary or whoever the third parties nominate."No. Hillary Clinton is a Republican in my opinion. There is zero chance I will vote for her. I don't know why you keep trying to make this a binary choice between Ron Paul and Hillary Clinton. I won't be voting for either of them.
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Comment #15 posted by Dankhank on October 20, 2007 at 11:39:16 PT
this is interesting ...
good essay, then, if you can stomach some ... troll the comments for a little bit ...http://warner.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/18/the-clinton-surprise/?em&ex=1193025600&en=9b27368434aa0aab&ei=5087%0Aa dice roll, will the link fit or stretch the page ...let's see ...
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Comment #14 posted by The GCW on October 20, 2007 at 06:59:57 PT

mayan,
"How a Second Terrorist Attack Will Benefit George W. Bush"did not mention how one of the benefits includes allowing Bush to declare a situation allowing Him to remain in office.
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Comment #13 posted by mayan on October 20, 2007 at 04:42:50 PT

whig
Zero chance? Then you might as well support Hillary or whoever the third parties nominate. I believe that it has already been decided. Hillary is being groomed to be the next president of the United States of America. Our only hope is to support the elephant that even the fascist media can't hide under the rug.I strongly urge everyone to check out the following link... How a Second Terrorist Attack Will Benefit George W. Bush: 
http://existentialistcowboy.blogspot.com/2007/10/how-second-terrorist-attack-will.html
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Comment #12 posted by whig on October 20, 2007 at 03:57:18 PT

OverwhelmSam
There is zero chance I will be voting for a Republican candidate in 2008.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #11 posted by OverwhelmSam on October 19, 2007 at 23:22:23 PT

whig
I really don't think parties matter anymore, most in office now should be voted out. You have to register as Republican in some states to vote for Ron Paul in the Primaries. However, I believe you can vote for a Republican President in the general election even if you are registered as a Democrat. 
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #10 posted by fight_4_freedom on October 19, 2007 at 22:48:47 PT:

I just came across this
Hemp segment on CNN. Check it out
cnn coverage
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #9 posted by whig on October 19, 2007 at 21:52:12 PT

OverwhelmSam
I don't understand. Vote for Ron Paul in the Democratic primary?
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #8 posted by OverwhelmSam on October 19, 2007 at 19:19:06 PT

whig
Parties have become pretty much irrelevant. I think people who still consider themselves to be Democrat should vote for Ron Paul.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #7 posted by whig on October 19, 2007 at 19:10:08 PT

mayan
I want you to know I am doing everything I can to prevent Hillary Clinton from winning the Democratic nomination. So don't take it as a given that she will win, because then you are betting that I won't succeed, and since we should both be on the same side of preventing her from being nominated, why not stake a position on another Democratic candidate even if you would prefer to vote for Ron Paul in the Republican primary. In other words, I've said I think Republicans should vote for Ron Paul. What candidate do you think Democratic voters should support?
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Comment #6 posted by OverwhelmSam on October 19, 2007 at 18:31:45 PT

mayan
I know! I am not much of an alarmist having had the confidence in my life to deal with anything thrown my way, but our asshole "President" is the scariest kind of evil Devil I've ever seen. And I've seen plenty. He seems bent on killing, jailing and ruining as many people as he can. And I guess the thing that alarms me, is that people still support him! And we are worried about Islamic extremists? Give me a break.
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Comment #5 posted by mayan on October 19, 2007 at 18:13:19 PT

OverwhelmSam 
Bush's handlers don't care if he drags down the entire republican party.They also handle Hillary...Neo-Cons Push for Hillary’s Nomination:
http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=5011Defense Industry Embraces Democrats, Hillary By Far The Favorite: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/10/17/defense-industry-embraces_n_68927.htmlGoing down,down,down...Bush Approval: Raw Poll Data:
http://www.pollkatz.homestead.com/files/approval-data_files/zzzmainGRAPHICS_14808_image001.gifTHE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN...I am ‘that big of a lunatic,’ Bill Maher:
http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_2547.shtmlPolitics Trumped Science in 9/11 Investigation: 
http://georgewashington.blogspot.com/2006/12/politics-trumped-science-in-911.html9/11 Truth in the South Bend Tribune:
http://911blogger.com/node/12066Colorado911Visibility March (video):
http://www.jonesreport.com/articles/181007_colorado_911.htmlPerception Test Presented by 9/11 Truth Montreal (video): 
http://prisonplanet.com/articles/october2007/191007_b_perception.htm
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Comment #4 posted by OverwhelmSam on October 19, 2007 at 18:13:17 PT

And You Can Take That From The Bank!
If you have a lot of money in the bank right now, you might want to consider taking it out and holding on to it. A major bank crash is very possible in the very near future and it will freeze hundreds of billions of the people's money. I've got my tent and canned goods ready, do you? If money becomes worthless, how are you going to live?
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Comment #3 posted by Max Flowers on October 19, 2007 at 17:52:02 PT

Dubya finally does some good?
And yet, dad gumb it, "Dubya" actually did something good today... increased sanctions on the monk-murdering Myanmar regime in a significant way that is going to hurt them, without dropping bombs on them. Go figger. 
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Comment #2 posted by The GCW on October 19, 2007 at 16:18:49 PT

Bush seems like a vicious animal.
The problem is that the evil blood lusting warmongers have enough time to start more wars, kill and murder many more people and make things worse.It is not like they are done with their bloody dirty deeds.That approval rating / poll doesn't stop the murderer.It's like Bush took an oath to rip America to pieces.What America needs is to stop Bush NOW, from doing any more harm.
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Comment #1 posted by OverwhelmSam on October 19, 2007 at 14:03:52 PT

I Read The News Today Oh Boy!
The gallup poll rates Bush's approval at just 24%. The story also indicated that the people were fed up with the federal government and it's wars, and intend to vote those currently in office, out of office. Great idea! The elected officials are there to advocate for The People, not for themselves or the federal government.
[ Post Comment ]





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