Breckenridge Colorado Residents Vote to Legalize Marijuana

Breckenridge Pot Legalization Creates Big Buzz

News Source

this isn't exactly breaking news but i didn't find anything else at ATS about it, already.

The skiing town of Breckenridge is creating a national buzz after voters by a nearly 3-to-1 margin legalized the adult possession of marijuana Tuesday night. Breckenridge voters passed Measure 2F, which removes criminal penalties from the town code for the private possession of up to one ounce of marijuana by adults 21 and older. The ordinance also removes criminal penalties for the possession of bongs, pipes and other drug paraphernalia. It was an avalanche "yes" vote, passing 73 percent to 27 percent.

now, this is significant in a wider scope because of the conflict between state and federal government.

from wiki:

Indeed, states may grant their citizens broader rights than the federal Constitution as long as they do not infringe on any federal constitutional rights.

after gay marriage was legalized on the state level, i told a few friends that i could foresee the same thing happening with legalization of marijuana.

just one state's legalization of any previously disallowed action opens the door for all the others to eventually follow.

i see this as a good thing not because of the drug aspect of marijuana but rather the numerous undeniable benefits of hemp on the environment as well as the economy.

marijuana was criminalized not because it was considered a dangerous drug but because DuPont developed a new latex paint to replace paint made with hemp seed oil. in order to eliminate the incumbent competition, a campaign was launched to "demonize" hemp and its variants.

it worked.
but it was not a good thing, imo.

i'm hoping that this is just a small step toward the great accomplishment of re-tuning in with our planet and its ecology, the result of which can only be prosperity for all its inhabitants. not the transient prosperity of money and material wealth but the kind of enduring prosperity that only our Mother can provide!!!

"This votes demonstrates that Breckenridge citizens overwhelmingly believe that adults should not be punished for making the safer choice to use marijuana instead of alcohol"

Agreed

Now it's up to you californians in the fall, legalising in California would be a big step worldwide.. we can't do this without you americans because of the huge influence the US has on an international level when it comes to the war on drugs and, well everything.





Edit: Not to hijack the thread but I'm curious, if any californian reads this what do you think will happen this fall, do you have a 'feeling' as to the outcome, have you gauged the political climate, the stance of the average joe?

[edit on 10-6-2010 by TheLaughingGod]

This is a few months old I believe. I think the vote happend in November of last year. The town followed Denver's example I believe.

Anyways.... I totally support this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

While technically we have drug laws here in British Columbia, you would be hard pressed to be arrested for simple possesion here. Cops go after the "BIG GUYS" here, growers.

As a Canadian comedian Rob Pue pointed out though and I'm paraphrasing here

" I hate the idea of legalizing Pot. I'm perfectly happy with the illegal prices I'm paying right now. I don't need the gov't getting their fingers in there with taxes and such"

He does raise a good point. Legalization means taxation. If anybody on here smokes or drinks you already know how much you're taxed on that.

Good for them!

Same reason Alcohol was demonized also not because they thought drinking was bad but because Rockefeller and Standard oil wanted to sell thier new fuel a waste product of oil refining called gasoline. Henry Ford designed the car to run on ethanol but Rockefeller bankrolled the women's suffrage movement and demonized alcohol and got the Halsted act passed better known as prohibition which gave rise to organized crime and stifled alcohol production for fuel. By the time it was repealed the damage was done and gasoline had taken over the market and here we are today now in 2010 still suffering from it's ill effects on the planet, multiple wars over it, and with the gulf oil leak... Sigh

in europe its the equalient of getting a parking ticket if they even bother to give one to you,

you´ll with all likely hood get a heftier (4-10x that of a parking ticket) fine for urinating on a public street.

hats of for Breckenridge for being mature about the subject.

I am wondering if this thread, which is certainly real, more or less breaking, news will even manage to last a day on ats. Every discussion of marijuana I've been involved with on these boards disappears after a day or so. (error message) I don't know why the discussion is verboten, but it really does appear to be. Hopefully since this is based on a real news story which is about a real election in the real world we can be allowed a little freedom to express our views. Be really ironic if we were not allowed to discuss a subject on "above top secret" that is finding legislative legitimacy in main street america. I cross my fingers and hope. s&f

i'll tell you one thing if other places dont do the same then im just gonna have to move to Breckenridge.

reply to post by pryingopen3rdeye


Move to Canada. More specifically British Columbia. SOme of the best weed out there.

Its about time the whole world follows suit. The war on drugs and prohibition is something only a control freak would even dream about...

Let people do whatever they want with themselves, and punish when they cannot behave. Don't take away the freedom of the behaving citizens.

[edit on 6/10/2010 by above]

reply to post by DEEZNUTZ


Will legalization raise the prices?

Taxes will lead to an upward adjustment of the prices of street drugs. However, the illegality of street drugs increases their costs. Drug dealers want to get paid for the risk they run of getting arrested. Drug dealers will also want to get compensated for the risk of having their inventory seized.

If drugs are legalized and taxed, will the upward adjustment taxes bring be offset by the lowered costs of legality?

i think this is so much bigger than legalizing "weed."

1. marijuana was made illegal to stop the use of hemp.
   
2. hemp is one of the most efficient substitutes for many oil products as well as paper and fiber to replace what we take from the forests around the world at a staggering rate.
   
3. there remains much resistance to the use of hemp (2) because so many do not realize the truth of (1).
   

sadly, it is often easier, and faster, to make something either legal or illegal in order to control its use and popularity than it is to educate both the public and their leaders.

and we need some expedient solutions to the energy issues the planet is currently facing!

reply to post by queenannie38


While I am a pothead.. I understand what you mean, utilizing hemp to it's full extent would be wonderful, sort of like free energy, it could change so much given the opportunity... now just imagine those two combined.
That's what I dream about... call me a fool but I believe we can do it!

Originally posted by TheLaughingGod
That's what I dream about... call me a fool but I believe we can do it!

...but you're not the only one...i hope someday you'll join us....and the world will live as one!


we CAN do it!
and so we will.

I have a feeling this will come as a surprise, but I say GOOD!!!

Legalize marijuana and gay marriage.

I am drinking a beer, soon I will go have a cigarette. Perfectly legal, yet alcohol impairs judgment far worse than pot, and smokes appear to be far worse for the body.

I am sick of tax dollars and LEO funds being wasted on something that really has no effect on other crimes. I would like to see people charged with marijuana crimes out of the damn system, instead of wasting time, money and resources.

We need those jail cells for murderers, rapists and POLITICIANS!

If they want lots of tax revenue then they should tax the fat people. Not those who are medically overweight but the over eaters, the real drain on healthcare systems.

I say if your not within 10% of your ideal body weight you get taxed for every pound you're over.

The argument about hemp is a good one. Hemp is one of the highest yielding plants you can grow. If you were a farmer you used to have a quota of how much of your land you had to devote to hemp production. It used to be illegal not to grow it. It's the perfect plant for our needs, 1000's of uses, good for stabilizing soil PH and you literally have to plant it and harvest it. That's it, no pesticides or GMO crop.

This should be the image of the green revolution.




Stop using trees for paper. Hemp paper is much better for paper as most great books still in existance were written on Hemp paper.

Stop using cotton and GMO cotton at that as it's very expensive and also fabrics made from hemp are much better and hemp clothing lasts a lot longer. I'm still wearing a T-Shirt made of hemp that I bought 10 years ago in San Diego.

Farmers would be willing to grow hemp again as it has so many potential revenue sources for them. It would also be good for them to rotate into regular crop cycles with other crops. Hemp is the healer for the soil.

Good for Breckenridge. It's a step for our Southern Neighbours. The only reason our gov't didn't legalize it years ago is because of the US.

It's estimated that the illegal pot trade in BC is approx $6-7 Billion a year.

up to one ounce of marijuana legal, sounds about right

i wonder if that would pertain to growing your own plant as well?

But that might take the gross profit margins away from the Mexican drug dealers who have murdered 23,000 Mexicans in the past few years.

That would take the gross profit margins out of the CIA's black budget drug dealing profiteering.
Which would make it more difficult for them to hijack your government & nation out from under you.

That would support liberty & freedom,

and NOT treat American citizen's bodies like they were communist government property & subject to its arbitrary dictates.


I am definitely libertarian on legalizing arbitrarily, currently illegal narcotics.

BTW the US government that has crashed the global economy, destroyed the gulf, spent longer in the Afghanistan quagmire than any other US war,

those idiots know better than YOU, what you should & should not do in your life?

Are you freaking crazy?

many other cities have done this.

but for the record this is not "legalizing" its "decriminalizing".

to legalize would mean it could be bought and sold and therefore taxed in local commerce. the trade part is what legitimizes it.