MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION ON THE BALLOT?

At Least Two Groups Planning For Legalization Initiative In Year
2012

The eyes of Colorado's growing medical marijuana community are set on
California's upcoming ballot initiative that would legalize marijuana
for adults.

At least two different Colorado pro-marijuana groups Safer
Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER) and the Cannabis Therapy
Institute (CTI) have announced plans to place a marijuana-legalization
initiative similar to California's Proposition 19 on the 2012 ballot.
The two groups yesterday staged events to bring attention to
Proposition 19 and their own initiatives.

"With the election coming up in California, everybody is going to be
asking what's going on in Colorado," said Laura Kriho of CTI, which
yesterday announced a fundraising drive on Nov. 2 for their
initiative. "I think if California legalizes it, I think there's going
to be a lot of places in the country that are going to want to legalize."

Meanwhile, SAFER offshoot Women's Marijuana Movement (WMM) yesterday
held a rally to show their support for Proposition 19 and to bring a
different face to the marijuana legalization movement.

"We thought it would be a great idea to show support and that all
different kinds of people believe in legalizing marijuana," said Toni
Fox of WMM.

SAFER and CTI are currently going forward with separate
marijuana-legalization initiatives, though both groups said they look
forward to working together. Although the groups share similar goals,
they disagree on one main issue N how much marijuana should be able to
be taxed.

Kriho believes any legalization initiative should only allow the sales
tax to be charged on marijuana. Meanwhile, Tvert's initiative would
likely cap any possible excise tax on an ounce of marijuana at $50.
Tvert believes banning an excise tax on marijuana would be "a nail in
the coffin" for the measure.

California support

A majority of California voters has swung in favor of Proposition 19,
according to a recent Field Poll. While a July survey found
Proposition 19 trailing by 4 points, 49 percent of Californians now
say they are inclined to vote "Yes" on the proposed marijuana
legalization law, with 42 percent leaning toward voting "No,"
according to Reuters. The margin of error on that poll is plus or
minus 4.1 percentage points.

And while Kriho and Tvert expressed interest in the outcome of
Proposition 19, the activists said they are moving forward with their
initiatives regardless of what happens in California.

"Even though California has been around for so long with medical
marijuana, Colorado is the first state in the country that has
established a state regulated system," said Tvert. "Whereas California
started the race earlier, Colorado appears to be on the way towards
finishing the race quicker."

Poll

A Rasmussen poll released in May found that 49 percent of Colorado
voters support legalizing marijuana. The pro-legalization poll numbers
are significantly higher than when Colorado voters rejected a ballot
initiative to legalize marijuana on a 61-38 percent vote in 2006.

"Without a doubt we believe Coloradans are ready to take the next step
towards making marijuana legal for all adults," said Tvert. "Enough
people around the state recognize that this is a far safer substance
than alcohol and it's time we start treating it that way."

Tvert doubts there will be enough funding to get more than one
marijuana-legalization initiative on the 2012 ballot.