by: Stephen Capinski
Breckenridge residents will soon be voting on whether to decriminalize marijuana. Many argue that there are many good reasons for doing so, but at the same time are we showing our children and others that pot is okay? Pot is found to be less addictive then its legal cousins alcohol and tobacco. There is a contradiction in the law that the less harmful marijuana is illegal when the more harmful alcohol is legal. It is rarely, if ever, found to be the substance that accounts for aggressive action such as household abuse, violence, car accidents etc. But it is still not healthy, however; this can be argued about anything. Too much of anything becomes bad, from video games to alcohol.
What Breckenridge residents will be voting on will be the decriminalization of marijuana. This code would allow adults to hold small amounts of marijuana (less then an ounce) for personal use. It will not make the drug more available to children, you will not be allowed to smoke in public, and you won’t get out of stoned driving. You simply will not get busted for possession. The law would still be far stricter then those that apply to alcohol, which allow you to have as much as you would like, and to drink in public.
The last issue is that pot can have a greater “footprint” then alcohol. As the recent pot busts at Arapahoe basin show parents do not want to walk their children through a smoke filled parking lot. So as these small possession tickets become a thing of the past, perhaps we will need to replace them with a “nuisance pot smoke” ticket. This could be similar to alcohols public intoxication ticket.
summitdaily.com/article/20091021/OPINION/910219982/1024/NONE
22 comments:
This sounds like good progress to overturning and illogical law. But can the dealers can still be busted to the same extent for possessing more than one ounce?
"It is rarely, if ever, found to be the substance that accounts for aggressive action such as household abuse, violence, car accidents etc [...] and you won’t get out of stoned driving."
Given the residence time of MJ in the body, I don't think there's anyway to make these claims. How could you give a road-side examination for MJ? How could you prove that a MJ user who got in a car accident was either altered or not altered?
I also think this policy sounds like it would be helpful. It appears that most people almost think of pot as a legal substance anyway, so by making it legal it seems they would almost have more control over the situation. People would not feel the need to buy so much at one time because they know its okay to have it. Plus they run less of a risk by having the legal amount. My only concern would also be the driving situation because it would for sure promote stoned driving.
I agree with the earlier post that this may even give more control to authorities so it seems absurd that it is not already put into place. Right now people do basically view it as legal so why not make it official.
I agree, but, yes, I think that driving under the influence of Marijuana could create a lot of problems with people that think it's ok. One solution would be to start an awareness campaign, similar to the one done with drunk driving, that shows the drastic consequences.
the decriminalization of marijuana should be passed in Breckenridge because the government is spending too much money on such a petty crime. People are more likely to stay home and be more paranoid than pro active. Alcohol is way too dangerous as well as other prescription drugs. Marijuana is a natural plant that if ignited and inhaled causes the brain to fire off saratonin at high levels.
Last Tuesday, voters in Breck approved the decriminalization with a huge majority of 72%. Here is a link to the story:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/11/03/national/main5517472.shtml
I agree that parents should not have to walk their children through marijuana smoke-filled parking lots at ski areas but I also think that there should be something done to provide a place where people can smoke since it has in fact become legal in the town. Especially as a tourist town, it is important for them to address the issue of where out-of-towners who do not have a private residence to smoke in would be able to legally participate.
I agree with Nick,
There should be a public place where marijuana patients can go and medicate without harming innocent bystanders. Those secrete log shacks in the woods on the mountain are good start for place during the ski day. Maybe we can turn them into Coffee Shops.
Denver had the same law passed in 2005 and not much has changed. If people are smoking downtown Breckenridge and making a scene, they can still get a ticket because of the state law. Also, county and state officers are not going to think twice about busting someone in Breckenridge just because it is legal under city law. All in all, I truly don't think much will change...
If they legalized it in Breck then people should be able to smoke outside because where else will you go? If you don't have a residence then its either in your car or in public. I think that these are good steps to addressing the issue. Marijuana on the big scale is still illegal and parents do have a right to speak up against users that come into contact with their children. However, where do you really draw the line?? If it is legalized within that area you should be able to smoke it freely as its your choice as a citizen.
I think this is a step forward to providing a safer alternative to alcohol use. I believe the next step is to develop a relative intoxication indicator device. Just like alcohol has Breathalyzers to indicate levels of intoxication, so do does marijuana in order to promote safe use. Then no one would have anything to say about decriminalizing marijuana, because it would be regulated exactly the same way.
Although i think education is awesome and important i think that an awareness campaign will just be beating a dead horse. I hate to say this but the more the alcohol awareness hit the more people ignored it. At least for some residents i talked to, the more the school forced alcohol awareness then more resentment they had towards the school and their program. It turned into a huge annoyance, which more then anything had the opposite affect then the school had intended. I think if there was a way to present Marijuana safety in a positive light, people will be less likely to do it to spite the organizations who are trying to prevent them from doing things they going to do anyway.
The people of Breckenridge, the country, and yourself need to understand that marijuana is not less addictive then other drug but completely non-addictive. Studies have shown no physical addictions to the drug like alcohol, cocaine, and heroine provide. legalization and taxing of marijuana is more then a viable option because the drug is so widely used already and does not kill the tax base, like that of alcohol and cigarettes.
Driving has come up quite a few times here. As far as I know a roadside test for marijuana already does exist and is as simple as a mouth swab. However I have heard critics claim that mouth swabs will continue test positive hours after the effects of smoking marijuana have worn off. Either way cops can totally tell if you are substantially impaired unless you are an amazing actor.
Prisons these days are full of people who are arrested on charges of marijuana possession. As a result, criminals of more serious violent crimes are getting sentences reduced. Breckenridge is taking a big step to prioritize its laws considering criminals. With a marijuana legalization we will see drops in crime rates, less dropped sentences, more tax revenue (if the government allocates medical marijuana)and less time and effort spent by authority busting growers. Congrats Breck!
It seems Breckenridge is taking similar steps as other cities (Denver, Seattle, etc) to decriminalize, but not legalize. What's the point of these laws? They allow adults to use, but don't tax consumption or production, actually they prevent both acts. Is it so difficult to develop laws that incorporate all parts of pot consumption?
I think this is definitely a step in the right direction in terms of marijuana policy in this country. Even though I do not believe that people should be prosecuted for marijuana use at all, this is a significant improvement from the possible legal implications of getting arrested with pot in some places. While I do agree marijuana should be legalized, I believe it should be consumed in the privacy of ones home. Smoking in public where there are children is simply not acceptable and tickets should be issued.
Although this post sounds like the average pot smoker advocating for legalization, I agree with this new law. I don't think that weed should illegal, but when people say it is completely harmless and has never caused a death, and is the autohealing medicine is where i think people go overboard. I don't think weed should be illegal but I think that it does impair your abilities to function to the fullest. It will be abused and people will drive their car into something and people will spaz, just my 2 cents.
if this law is implemented, is it still going to be illegal to buy pot? if so, as I suspect, I'm not entirely sure what the point of passing this law is. There is a similar one in effect in Denver, and the results don't seem to be much of a change. I personally would be more comfortable with someone showing up high than drunk to a restaurant, bar, etc., but the fact is unless the federal government gets involved is never going to be fully legalized, which means the bottom line is not much is going to change.
I think Stephen makes a good point about having a nuisance ticket similar to an alcohol one for smoking in public. It just seems to make the most sense. If you are going to legalize it on some level then you should follow up with the proper reprimands. That being said, I think this is a step in the right direction as well.
I think that this is a positive step towards a more reasonable future. Marijuana is practically legal in many US states/cities anyway. Alcohol is clearly the more dangerous substance here.
I wonder if this will help Breckenridge Ski Resort's profits this year? I can see the terrain park being an even more popular spot.
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