And just like that, Colorado went to pot.
In fact, we ran for it on Election Day. Amendment 64, which legalizes recreational marijuana, passed 55 percent to 45 percent.
We have, however, become a case study in “careful what you wish for.”
We’re waiting to find out of if the feds are going to pull the plug on this party early. Voters here, and also in Washington where a similar measure passed, were well within our rights to tell state officials to end marijuana prohibition. There are, however, serious federal laws superseding what Colorado does, and that’s a problem for a lot of reasons.
There is actually a precedent here. New York voters in 1923 decided Prohibition, then into its third year, was a disaster creating a huge criminal industry supplying an illicit product that people were going to obtain and use no matter what the government did. Sound familiar? So New York voters repealed it, long before the rest of the country did. The feds worked around it. It could happen here.
But there’s a new problem: Central America. One of the most compelling reasons for ending marijuana prohibition is that the illegal pot trade is run by cruel, vicious gangs in Mexico and other central American countries. Political leaders there are having a panic attack over what the ramifications are for two U.S. states taking the plunge. They’ve demanded that the United Nations take up the matter now.
We have created an international incident. Let’s say the feds let us open up our own little weedoms. You can bet your sweet Thai stick that the rest of the country, nay, the rest of the world, is going to be very interested in coming here and participating in our grand little experiment.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Marijuana tourism dollars could bring a hefty chunk of cash to a state that already has some pretty cool reasons to visit. People don’t go to Vegas for the pretty skies.
Now if all goes according to plan, Colorado and Washington will be growing its own renewable crop, cutting down on the murderous-thug-dope trade in Mexico and parts south. And if more states follow Colorado’s example? But the slaughter of those who dare get in the way could easily take a turn for the worse, and political leaders there know it. But here’s what they’re also thinking: If a growing number of U.S. states end marijuana prohibition, shouldn’t Central American countries jump on the bandwagon and create legal markets worth billions? Damned right they should.
But they’re worried. Mexican President Felipe Calderon says the United States no longer has the “moral authority” to continue the so-called war on drugs, at least that particular drug. He’s right. But the United States has never had the moral authority to pursue the war on drugs. It’s a sham. America’s appetite for pot and other drugs only grows each year.
My email box and voicemail are filled with messages from people who just don’t get that Colorado residents are going to get and smoke dope no matter what. Amendment 64 isn’t about whether it’s good sense to take up smoking pot. It’s about common sense: Marijuana prohibition causes more harm than good. That’s it.
The naysayers are cranking up the rhetoric about death and mayhem. Critics say Colorado needs to prepare for plane crashes and people dying from tonsillectomies because everyone is going to be getting high all the time, just because we can.
Stop the reefer madness. Lots and lots of Colorado is already getting high, and the planes have managed to stay in the sky. Who knows how many pilots and surgeons smoke wacky weed right now, but the chances are damned good that they don’t do it before they go to work, any more than surgeons pound a few beers and shots before they head into the OR. It shows how little people know about the real effects of marijuana, and who uses it.
To be sure, it’s a drug, Just like wine, beer and Bailey’s Irish Cream. And people are going to get and use it no matter what, so good sense has prevailed here, allowing Colorado to take control an industry that already exists.
Take a breath, Colorado, but you don’t have to hold it.
Reach editor Dave Perry at 303-750-7555 or dperry@aurorasenitnel.com
Nice analysis!