DENVER-Denver, CO has given new credence to its nickname “The Mile High City.” On November 2, the city passed an ordinance that will make possession of marijuana legal inside city limits.
The ordinance allows for residents over 21 to possess up to an ounce of marijuana at any given time.
56,001 residents voted for the ordinance while 48,632 voted against the legalization of marijuana. This passed the ordinance 54 percent to 46 percent.
Mayor Hickenlooper opposed legalization of the drug. Hickenlooper says he considers marijuana a gateway drug that leads to “much more self-destructive behaviors.”
National Review Online editor, William F. Buckley, opposes this argument in his editorial “Free Weeds.” “That argument, to quote myself, is on the order of saying that every rapist began by masturbating,” says Buckley.
According to Hickenlooper, police will continue to arrest citizens in possession of marijuana, because state law still makes possession illegal. Denver can adopt and ordinance that is stricter than state law, but cannot adopt one that is weaker.
However, state laws are already relatively weak on marijuana in Colorado. Possession of marijuana results in a $100 fine and no jail time.
According to Mason Tvert, founder of Safer Alternatives For Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER), “It’s like a speeding ticket, and only a fraction of people end up going to court over it.”
Ben Nester, a criminal justice major, feels that enforcing drug laws takes up a lot of law enforcements time. “The prison and jail system house more drug related offenders than anything else. When an officer arrests someone on a drug charge they have to book them, file a report, and show up in court, which takes them off the roads. Most of the people who are arrested on drug related charges pose no harm to anyone else.”
Bruce Mirken, spokesman for Washington D.C.’s Marijuana Policy Project, called the ordinance the “wind in the sails of reform” and “mainstream.” According to Mirken, “This is the heart of America saying, ‘Hold on, maybe our current marijuana laws don’t make a lot of sense.'”
This refers to the growing attitude that too much money is spent on drug enforcement. According to Buckley, there are 700,000 marijuana-related arrests made very year. 87 percent of these arrests involved possessions of small amounts of marijuana for personal use. According to Buckley, “This exercise in scrupulosity costs us $10-15 billion per year in direct expenditures alone.”
SAFER criticized Mayor Hickenlooper for opposing the proposal, noting his ownership of a popular brewpub. SAFER also cited a recent alcohol related shooting in Denver as a reason to legalize marijuana, hoping that legalizing the drug would deter drinking.
Supporters of the legalization of marijuana argue that alcohol has the same or worse effects. According to changetheclimate.org, a website promoting the legalization of marijuana, “You have to recognize that it is less dangerous than even alcohol or tobacco, since it cannot be linked to grave health consequences.”
This website also denies the claims that marijuana use causes memory problems. Studies have shown that users under the influence of the drug have trouble learning and recalling new information. But according to changetheclimate.org, “This diminishment only lasts for the duration of intoxication.”
Mellisse Leung, a Medical student at the University of California Berkley, found research that proves “Marijuana is very harmful, poisoning the structures that trigger cells to grow and replace themselves.”
According to Leung’s research, users have personality problems including loss of concentration, lack of mental energy, and memory problems. Leung also noted that marijuana smokers get sick more than the general population. “It seems that the drug weakens the body’s ability to fight germs,” says Leung.
Mirken hopes that Denver’s decision will spur on other cities to do the same. Already, Seattle, the State of California and several college towns have made possession of marijuana law enforcements lowest priority.