Marijuana For Recreational Use Now Legal In Colorado: Hickenlooper Signs Amendment 64 Into State Constitution

Marijuana for recreational use is now legal in Colorado.

Today, Governor John Hickenlooper signed an Executive Order making an “official declaration of the vote” related to Amendment 64. The declaration formalizes A64 as part of Colorado’s state constitution and makes legal the personal use, possession and limited home-growing of marijuana under Colorado law for adults aged 21 and older.

“Voters were loud and clear on Election Day,” Hickenlooper said in a statement. “We will begin working immediately with the General Assembly and state agencies to implement Amendment 64.”

Hickenlooper also created a marijuana task force that will aid in the implementation of Amendment 64 in Colorado. At the end of November when the creation of the task force was just announced, the governor’s spokesman, Eric Brown, described that that the task force will work “to identify the policy, legal and procedural issues that need to be resolved related to Amendment 64,” The Denver Post reported.

The task force is co-chared by Jack Finlaw, Hickenlooper’s chief legal counsel and Barbra Brohl, the executive director of the Colorado Department of Revenue. Click here for a full list of all 24 members.

Amendment 64 was approved 55-45 in November’s election and its passage was due in large part to the efforts of Campaign To Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol’s co-director Mason Tvert who responded to Hickenlooper’s signing in a statement. “This is a truly historic day,” Tvert said. “From this day forward, adults in Colorado will no longer be punished for the simple use and possession of marijuana. We applaud Gov. Hickenlooper for issuing this declaration in a timely fashion, so that adult possession arrests end across the state immediately.”

Tvert added: “We look forward to working with the governor’s office and many other stakeholders on the implementation of Amendment 64. We are certain that this will be a successful endeavor and Colorado will become a model for other states to follow.”

Via statement, Hickenlooper’s office outlines the goals and mission of the task force:

Issues that will be addressed include: the need to amend current state and local laws regarding the possession, sale, distribution or transfer of marijuana and marijuana products to conform them to Amendment 64’s decriminalization provisions; the need for new regulations for such things as security requirements for marijuana establishments and for labeling requirements; education regarding long-term health effects of marijuana use and harmful effects of marijuana use by those under the age of 18; and the impact of Amendment 64 on employers and employees and the Colorado economy. The Task Force will also work to reconcile Colorado and federal laws such that the new laws and regulations do not subject Colorado state and local governments and state and local government employees to prosecution by the federal government.

All meetings of the Task Force and any working groups will be open to the public. The Task Force will also endeavor to solicit public comment as part of its consideration of the policy, legal and procedural issues that need to be resolved to implement Amendment 64.

“Task Force members are charged with finding practical and pragmatic solutions to the challenges of implementing Amendment 64 while at all times respecting the diverse perspectives that each member will bring to the work of the task force,” the Executive Order says. “The Task Force shall respect the will of the voters of Colorado and shall not engage in a debate of the merits of marijuana legalization or Amendment 64.”

The Task Force will hold its first meeting at noon Dec. 17 in the Department of Revenue Gaming Conference Room, 17301 W. Colfax Ave., Suite 135, in Golden.

“As we move forward now with implementation of Amendment 64, we will try to maintain as much flexibility as possible to accommodate the federal government’s position on the amendment,” Hickenlooper said in a statement.

It has already been more than a month since the passage of historic measures in Colorado and Washington which legalized the recreational use of marijuana. On Dec. 6, Washington’s Initiative 502 — which legalized marijuana for recreational use for adults 21 and over in that state — became law.

A64 allows adults 21 and older to purchase up to one ounce of marijuana from specialty marijuana dispensaries and grow up to six marijuana plants in their homes. Possession is limited to up to an ounce for personal use, but selling marijuana without a license, purchasing marijuana from a party who is not licensed as well as public use of marijuana will remain illegal.

Before A64 officially became law, some local prosecutors already reacted to the voters’ passage of the amendment by dropping marijuana possession cases. Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey as well as Boulder County DA Stan Garnett announced that their offices would drop possession prosecutions for adults for less than an ounce of marijuana as well as for possession of marijuana paraphernalia.

The federal government’s enforcement intent on marijuana law remains unclear. Attorney General Eric Holder, who was a vocal opponent of California’s legalization initiative in 2010 saying he would “vigorously enforce” federal marijuana prohibition, remained silent on the issue during the election cycle and has continued to remain silent now that the measures have passed in Colorado and Washington.

Hickenlooper, who has been a vocal opponent of Amendment 64 but has said that he intends to respect the wishes of the voters, did have a phone call with Holder to discuss Colorado’s legalizing of marijuana and how the feds might respond, but the results of that call did not offer any insight into the Department of Justice’s stance on the marijuana measures in Colorado and Washington, according to The Associated Press.

Colorado U.S. Reps Diana DeGette, Jared Polis, Mike Coffman and Ed Perlmutter have already introduced legislation that would exempt any state that passes its own laws governing marijuana and/or medical marijuana from federal laws banning the sale, possession and use of small amounts of pot by adults called the Respect States’ and Citizens’ Rights Act, The Colorado Independent reported.

If the Obama administration does decide to crackdown on legalized marijuana in Colorado — where more people voted for marijuana legalization than for the president’s reelection — the administration could face some serious political fallout with much of the same population of the Centennial State that handed him Colorado on election night.

Rumblings are beginning to surface about the Obama administration’s response to legalized marijuana in both Colorado and Washington. The New York Times reported last week that officials in the White House and Department of Justice are considering plans for legal action against the state voter-approved measures.

However many proponents of legalization say they don’t foresee federal agents interfering in states that have legalized cannabis, NBC News reported, citing the federal government’s silence on the issue this election cycle.

There is also the July report from GQ which stated that President Obama wants to “pivot” on the war on drugs during his second term. Marc Ambinder writes:

Don’t expect miracles. There is very little the president can do by himself. And pot-smokers shouldn’t expect the president to come out in favor of legalizing marijuana. But from his days as a state senator in Illinois, Obama has considered the Drug War to be a failure, a conflict that has exacerbated the problem of drug abuse, devastated entire communities, changed policing practices for the worse, and has led to a generation of young children, disproportionately black and minority, to grow up in dislocated homes, or in none at all.

Optimism about a second-term Obama administration that turns its stance around on marijuana might be difficult for some pot business owners who have seen the DOJ aggressively crack down on medical marijuana dispensaries in states like California and Colorado where hundreds of pot shops have been shuttered just since the beginning of 2012.

The passage of these measures in Colorado and Washington — as well as similar legalization measures that are expected to be announced in Rhode Island and Maine — may not signal a full-blown end to the decades-long drug war, but perhaps a truce is near. Neil Franklin, on a recent teleconference before the Thanksgiving holiday that was aimed at pressuring Obama and Holder to respect states’ rights on pot said he was cautiously optimistic about Obama’s reaction to states legalizing marijuana. “During his first term, President Obama really disappointed those of us who hoped he might follow through on his campaign pledges to respect state medical marijuana laws,” said Franklin, in a statement about the letter delivered to Holder on Tuesday. “Still, I’m hopeful that in his second term he’ll realize the political opportunity that exists to do the right thing.”

B.C. candidates should step up on marijuana reform: poll

Provincial politicians are facing growing pressure to reveal their support or opposition to the legalization and regulation of marijuana in B.C., according to a new poll.

Stop the Violence B.C. – a lobby group of law enforcement and health officials, legal experts, academic professionals and ex-politicians – commissioned an Angus Reid poll that shows 73 per cent of British Columbians want the province to undertake a comprehensive pilot study on the regulation of marijuana.

“The provincial government comes up with a lame-duck excuse that it’s not their responsibility because it’s a federal law. But it is their responsibility because the provinces and municipalities are paying for bad policy every day through our police departments,” said Ted Smith, former head of the Victoria-based Cannabis Buyers’ Club of Canada.

“They’re not defending these laws at all anymore, they’re just saying ‘it’s not our job.’”

Stop the Violence B.C. believes a regulated marijuana market will improve public health and safety by taking the drug out of the hands of criminal organizations and by allowing government to develop a responsible message for its use by adults.

“We manage to regulate one of the deadliest drugs, and that’s tobacco, and we want to examine that same model … for legalizing cannabis, much in the same way that some of the U.S. states have done,” said John Anderson, a criminologist at Vancouver Island University and Stop the Violence B.C. member.

The poll, released April 18, also shows only 12 per cent of British Columbians would look unfavourably on their own political party for supporting a trial study on cannabis regulation.

Last September, the Union of B.C. Municipalities passed a resolution urging the federal government to consider decriminalizing marijuana possession, a crime that accounted for 54 per cent of all reported drug crimes in Canada in 2011, according to Statistics Canada numbers.

The onerous burden on police forces, as well as the health risks associated with an uncontrolled product, were two reasons given by the Canadian senate in 2002 when it recommended legalizing and regulating marijuana.

And a UNICEF report released earlier this month shows 28 per cent of Canadian children aged 11, 13 and 15 reported having used cannabis in 2009-2010, the highest use reported out of 29 developed countries.

While the federal government has given no indication it would support marijuana regulation, provincial politicians should understand public opinion has reached a tipping point, said Geoff Plant, former B.C. attorney general.

“British Columbians clearly want their politicians to show leadership on marijuana policy reform,” Plant said in a statement. “With the province facing an election in a few weeks, now is the time for all political parties to let the public know whether they will support the proposed research trial of cannabis taxation and regulation.”

Stop the Violence B.C. has sent a questionnaire to all B.C. candidates asking their opinion on cannabis legalization; organizers plan to release any collected data in the coming weeks.

Another pro-marijuana group, Sensible B.C., is hoping to collect more than 400,000 voter signatures in September to put the issue of cannabis decriminalization to a referendum vote in 2014.

“Politicians are running out of excuses not to act,” Anderson said. “You can’t put your personal viewpoints ahead of what the science says. Criminalizing cannabis is leading to more violence in society, not less.”

The Angus Reid poll was conducted April 8 and 9 using a randomized representative sample of 807 British Columbian adults and has a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percentage points.

Best Buds Vs. Up In Smoke

Membership Newsletter April/May 2013

Sorry for not sending an email last month but it was an incredibly busy time and by the time we realized it had not happened it seemed too late. In fact this month is so busy that we are not holding any committee meetings.

We will get back to having meetings in June, starting with the new Health Care committee. This committee will seek to connect members to friendly medical professionals and to educate the medical community about the uses of cannabis. The first meeting will be Thurs June 6 at 5pm at the club.

Also having its first meeting in June, the Events committee will be planning opportunities for the members to get together and socialize outside of the club more often, while attempting to coordinate some fundraising activities, too. This committee will help with the annual birthday potluck, summer picnics, hikes, movie nights, etc and other fun happenings. It will have its first meeting on June 13 at 5pm.

The next meeting of the Health Canada committee will be Thurs Jun 20 at 6:30pm at the club. The final meeting of the month is the Research and Development committee on Thurs June 27 at 5pm.

The best news of the spring is the fact that as of April 1 the taxes at the club went down to 5%, as the PST is apparently not applicable. Hopefully this will help in the fight against the GST, too.

Ted and Gayle will be going to the Treating Yourself Expo in Toronto on the last weekend in May, so if you know any cannabis lovers in Ontario you should tell them to go buy a Hempology 101 textbook there. They also just took a vacation to Jamaica, and while the video is not ready yet there will be one of that posted soon.

REACH FOR THE POT, the world’s only cannabis gameshow, has started back up Weds nights at 7pm at the bandshell in Beacon Hill Park. Come watch the best free entertainment in town or check it later on youtube. I you feel even more full of energy, come play dodgeball with Team 420 every Thurs on the back lawn of the courthouse, or just show up at 420 for a toke and watch us play.

For those that really need to go to a meeting, you are always free to attend the monthly board meeting of the International Hempology 101 Society, 7:30 pm Tues May 7.

Cannabis as Therapy
 

Overcoming the stigma

By James Kerr, M.A. Clinical Counselor

Care of the Weed Blog

As a mental health therapist, I am conflicted when considering recent progress within the cannabis movement. Legalization in Washington and Colorado is historic. And campaigns such as British Columbia’s Sensible BC make it seem that it is only a matter of time before society as a whole comes to awareness about this miraculous plant. Yet every day in my role as a therapist, I am aware of the stigma and judgment cannabis users face when seeking health services.

This article will examine the stigma in two parts. Part I is a fictional portrayal of a CTP (Cannabis for Therapeutic Purpose) user attempting to access health services. Part II will examine the effects stigmatization has on the CTP user, as well as actions underway to expose, educate and empower the cannabis movement.  

Part I:

Allow me to paint a picture familiar to many readers, which plays out every day between patient and health care professional. I will draw the example of a cannabis user seeking mental health treatment.

Pat is a cannabis user who has been struggling for years with mental health concerns (possibly depression, anxiety, self-esteem, work or relationship concerns). He has finally gathered the significant courage required to seek help for his problems.

Pat does not feel his CTP use negatively impacts his life in any way. His wife is an occasional user and is well aware of her husband’s use. If asked, Pat would identify a change of perspective and relaxation as the main benefits of his CTP use.

All is going smoothly as the therapist gathers information, when the question arises, “Tell me of any alcohol or illegal drug use.” At this point Pat has a decision to make.

Let’s explore two scenarios:

Scenario #1

Pat has been completely honest throughout the intake interview and decides to admit to his CTP use. Disclosing his cannabis use seems minor compared to some personal information he has already shared. Pat replies, “Yes I use cannabis regularly.” The tone of the counselor’s voice changes, there is an energy shift in the room, and Pat is shocked by the amount of follow-up questions he is asked, “How often?”, “How much?”, “How long?” and “Do you use any other illegal drugs?”

Scenario #2

Pat lies and denies using cannabis for fear of being stigmatized. He tests the waters by saying, “May of have tried marijuana once or twice but nothing major.” The therapist breathes an audible sigh of relief and the initial interview finishes up shortly thereafter.

In Scenario #1, it is likely Pat will be refused treatment. Even though the reason he sought out therapy in the first place has nothing to do with his cannabis use he will be advised to seek addiction counseling.

In Scenario #2, Pat significantly downplays the role cannabis plays in his life. From this perspective the therapist has no reason to explore major aspects of Pat’s physical, mental, and spiritual life as they relate to CTP use. As a result, the counselor-client relationship where trust, openness, and honesty should be paramount, has already been damaged due to Pat’s legitimate fear that he will be stigmatized because of his medicinal cannabis use.

These are just two scenarios out of many possible outcomes, based on my experience in health care and the many CTP users that I have interviewed. Honest, balanced conversations about cannabis use rarely occur with health care professionals. Too often such conversations are one-sided, (due to a power imbalance) and are of a punitive nature. Common misinformation includes: gateway drug theory, cannabis and psychosis, increased potency of cannabis, cannabis as bad medicine, etc. A health care professional may encourage the individual to immediately start working to reduce their cannabis use or, worse, refuse mental health treatment until the cannabis user is “clean” or recovered from their “illegal addiction”.

To better understand Pat’s dilemma, one must more closely examine how social stigma affects the CTP user. Social stigma is defined as: “The phenomenon whereby an individual with an attribute which is deeply discredited by his/her society is rejected as a result of the attribute” (Goffman, 1963). The rejection of CTP through social stigma is only now being researched and examined.

Part II

CTP users find themselves in a real life Catch-22: either they reject the benefits of medicinal cannabis in order to conform, or face the threat of stigmatization. In a recent study, “Perceptions of cannabis as a stigmatized medicine”, Bottorff et al., write, “In order to achieve the benefits of cannabis use, participants had to negotiate social censorship, disapproval, threats, and isolation” (2013). Any respite found in the relief of physical and mental health symptoms is quickly replaced by seeming deviant in the eyes of friends, family members, law enforcement and health professionals.

In truth, the stigmatizing label of “illegal drug user” is just one of many unjust labels with which CTP users are burdened. A majority will experience stigmatization on multiple fronts due to: gender, sexual orientation, race, socio-economic status, mental illness, communicable disease, chronic or terminal illness. In his study focusing on the oppression and stigmatization of medicinal cannabis users, Victoria-based Philippe Lucas found such treatment by society can lead to feelings of helplessness, depression, anxiety, and a general lack of motivation to overcome the imposed oppression (2010). One must become educated and empowered in order to combat such oppression.

There has never been a more important time within the cannabis movement. While stigmatization is all too common, access writing and research regarding CTP is only a click away. The Bottorff et al., study quotes the views of CTP users about where the conversation should be headed. They write, “One man (aged 42, daily user, AIDS) argued that if the perception of cannabis was to change to being a therapeutic agent rather than a recreational drug, much would be improved:

“It’s that stigma attached to pot. That lovely word pot has such bad condemnation [sic] to it. Meanwhile people can pop sleeping pills left, right, and center, and nobody thinks anything of it. So it’s a perception. When we can change that perception of what this is and what the approach is [cannabis as therapy], the battle is half won. [It would help for] people to talk about the issue, get proper information out there, and if you can stack the seats with informed people and reach out to a community where you need to reach out to, then you can start the process.” (2013)

This conversation has begun, but education needs to be deliberate and focused if viewpoints can be shifted away from fear and stigmatization and towards knowledge and acceptance.

CTP users today bear the responsibility of demonstrating user behavior that is beyond reproach. That means taking the personal responsibility of being a role-model for cannabis use in spite of resistance. As Bottorff et al., report, “Leading by example was what one participant (aged 42, daily user, HIV/AIDS) believed he could do to change society’s perceptions of him and his CTP use.

“I can only do what I can do for myself and present myself and approach my life in the way that shows that I am not a drug addict. I am not a detriment to society. I’m actually trying to be a part of society but I am kind of running into a lot of roadblocks. I know how the world works. It happens slowly, very slowly, and usually it’s one or two or three people who start and take it somewhere and then other people build on it. That’s all you can do.” (2013)

As ever, educating society can be achieved in various ways: informing government officials about shifts in perspective, writing letters to the editor and other submissions to news outlets, and participating in informed discussions. As an example, the Sensible BC campaign has the potential to dramatically change the cannabis policy in British Columbia permanently. I feel it is the duty of every cannabis user to become involved.

By helping the movement you will in return help yourself. Philippe Lucas asserts that users who, “regain a sense of control over their conditions and treatment options [...] are much more likely to successfully adapt to the physical, mental and social challenges they face, including social stigma and resistance from the medical community” (2010, p.163). Many individuals have chosen to become CTP users for a variety of reasons; once they accept themselves as users, they become an inspiration to others.

In summary, be proud of what you have accomplished and that you have made the right choices for your needs—acknowledge that you are pioneers. You are living in a time where you can change history. Accept that you are stigmatized against but gather strength from knowing a critical mass has been reached—and when we unite our voices, we will have power to change the way the world views cannabis.

Bottorff JL, Bissell LJL, Balneaves LG, Oliffe JL, Capler NR and Buxton J, (2013). Perceptions of cannabis as a stigmatized medicine: A qualitative descriptive study. Harm Reduction Journal 2013, 10:2.

Goffman, E., 1963. Stigma: Notes on the management of spoiled identity. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Lucas, P., 2010.Patient-centered strategies to counter stigma, oppression and forced incarceration in the C/S/X and medical cannabis movements. Interface: a journal for and about social movements. Vol. 2 (2), pp. 149-167.