AURORA | Colorado voters on Tuesday said “yes” to recreational marijuana for adults.
Amendment 64, which would make small amounts of marijuana legal for people older than 21 years old, looked to be on the verge of passing, based on late returns. The measure had 878,000 “yes” votes, compared to 777,000 no votes. That margin of 53 percent to 46 percent to hold up with just a few precincts left to count.
In addition to legalizing marijuana possession for adults, the measure establishes a system to tax and regulate the sale of marijuana.
“Over the past eight years in Colorado, we have argued that it is irrational to punish adults for choosing to use a product that is far less harmful than alcohol,” Mason Tvert said, co-director of the Yes on 64 campaign, in a statement. “Today, the voters agreed. Colorado will no longer have laws that steer people toward using alcohol, and adults will be free to use marijuana instead if that is what they prefer. And we will be better off as a society because of it.”
A similar measure in 2006 got only about 40 percent of the vote. Another marijuana legalization measure failed in California in 2010, but supporters of the initiative were confident in the weeks leading up to the election.
Supporters said the measure is different from the 2006 effort in one major way: in addition to legalizing the drug for recreational use, it would also set up a system to tax the sale of marijuana from legitimate businesses, similar to those currently selling medical marijuana.
“We are proud of the people of Colorado for having the courage and wisdom to reject decades of propaganda in order to embrace a more sensible approach to marijuana policy,” Betty Aldworth said, advocacy director of the Yes on 64 campaign, in a statement.
Opponents, however, argued the measure wouldn’t even do what it’s supporters hope — legalize marijuana because the drug would remain illegal on the federal level.
In a statement Tuesday night, federal prosecutors said that the “yes” vote on 64 doesn’t change much.
“The Department of Justice’s enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act remains unchanged. In enacting the Controlled Substances Act, Congress determined that marijuana is a Schedule I controlled substance. We are reviewing the ballot initiative and have no additional comment at this time,” said Jeff Dorschner, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Denver.
Gov. John Hickenlooper, who opposed the measure, said in a statement that it’s not over yet.
“Federal law still says marijuana is an illegal drug, so don’t break out the Cheetos or Goldfish too quickly,” he said.
Marijuana backers weren’t heeding the caution. A jubilant crowd erupted in cheers in a Denver bar almost as soon as polls closed.
“It means I’m going to smoke a lot of weed tonight, woo!” said marijuana amendment backer Gary Rymer.
Colorado’s direct challenge to federal drug law comes 12 years after the state legalized marijuana for people with certain medical conditions.
Colorado exit polls showed a generational divide on marijuana. Legalization was solidly supported by thirty-somethings but opposed by about two-thirds of those older than 65.
“I think it’s a license for the younger generation to do drugs,” said 67-year-old Republican Mary Ann Calisto, of Bennett, east of Denver.
But younger voters were swayed by arguments that marijuana could produce needed tax money for schools.
Stacie Packard, a 42-year-old mother of two from the Denver suburb of Wheat Ridge, said she preaches to her children to stay away from drugs. Ultimately, she decided to support it because the first $40 million raised in taxes on pot would go to public schools.
“I guess it’s kind of a shame that it’s come to this,” she said about the education funding.
The amendment sets up an elaborate regulatory scheme for how the drug could be used and sold. The amendment directed state lawmakers to regulate the drug through the Department of Revenue, which already oversaw alcohol sales and medical marijuana dispensaries.
The measure also directed state lawmakers to place an excise tax of up to 15 percent on marijuana sales, with the first $40 million each year devoted to school construction.
After approval by the Legislature, the pot tax would face final approval by voters.
The amendment also allows the production of industrial hemp, a far less potent cousin of marijuana that can be used for fiber and fuel, among other things.
Nine states — Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Vermont and West Virginia — have already passed laws allowing hemp cultivation or research.
But federal drug law prohibits hemp production, so industrial hemp used in products from granolas to soaps is currently imported.
Colorado’s amendment did not affect existing medical marijuana law.
Colorado has 536 dispensaries licensed statewide. The state had several dozen more before a federal crackdown began earlier this year, targeting dispensaries near schools.
Colorado voters rejected marijuana legalization in 2006, 59 percent to 41 percent.
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Associated Press reporters P. Solomon Banda, Thomas Peipert and Colleen Slevin contributed to this report.
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