POT LEGALIZATION COMING TO A BALLOT NEAR YOU

Pot or Not?

Colorado voters will have a decision to make in November, when a
constitutional amendment that would regulate marijuana much like
alcohol will be on the ballot. At this early stage it would be fair
to say it's too close to call, but pot legalization backers are
organized, they've shown the ability to raise money and it appears
being on the same ballot as a presidential election will benefit the measure.

Backers of the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol submitted
about 160,000 signatures to the secretary of state last week. They
only need about half that many to be approved, so it's a
near-certainty the measure will make the ballot.

"I think Colorado is ready to take this step," said Mason Tvert, who
has organized marijuana-related campaigns in Denver and backed the
medicinal pot movement.

A recent poll showed 49 percent of the voters support legalization
and 40 percent are opposed. Such polls, taken a long time before an
election when opposition has not yet organized, are not worth much.
Yet Tvert is optimistic, saying "We have another 10 months to
continue having this conversation."

There's going to be a debate, all right. The same law enforcement
groups that have always opposed any form of legalized marijuana will
oppose it again.

You're going to hear that marijuana still is an illegal substance as
far as the federal government is concerned. You're going to hear that
it is a gateway drug that leads to harder stuff.

Pot backers might ask you: "When was the last time you heard of a
marijuana-crazed man beating up his wife?" Or: "does it make sense to
turn people into criminals for possessing pot when it's clear alcohol
is a much more dangerous drug?"

Under the proposal "adults would only be able to have small
quantities, up to an ounce," explained Brian Vicente, a Denver
attorney who has lobbied for medicinal pot and legalization for years.

If the measure passes, the legislature would be able to ask voters
for an excise tax on marijuana of up to 15 percent. Another election
would have to be held for that. As with alcohol, there would be
different kinds of licenses, but none would be issued until January 2014.

Also similar to alcohol regulation, the new laws would be
administered by the Colorado Department of Revenue. You'd have to be
21 to buy pot and it would be subject to sales taxes. How much money
that would bring in is hard to predict, although backers are already
claiming it would be tens of millions.

It's less about tax revenue, though, than it is about doing the right
thing. It's about time we turned the corner on this and ended pot
prohibition, as we did with alcohol generations ago.