President (To Win Colorado)
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(D) Kamala Harris
(R) Donald Trump
80%
20%
CO-01 (Denver)
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(D) Diana DeGette*
(R) V. Archuleta
98%
2%
CO-02 (Boulder-ish)
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(D) Joe Neguse*
(R) Marshall Dawson
95%
5%
CO-03 (West & Southern CO)
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(D) Adam Frisch
(R) Jeff Hurd
50%
50%
CO-04 (Northeast-ish Colorado)
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(R) Lauren Boebert
(D) Trisha Calvarese
90%
10%
CO-05 (Colorado Springs)
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(R) Jeff Crank
(D) River Gassen
80%
20%
CO-06 (Aurora)
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(D) Jason Crow*
(R) John Fabbricatore
90%
10%
CO-07 (Jefferson County)
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(D) B. Pettersen
(R) Sergei Matveyuk
90%
10%
CO-08 (Northern Colo.)
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(D) Yadira Caraveo
(R) Gabe Evans
70%↑
30%
State Senate Majority
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DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
80%
20%
State House Majority
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DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
95%
5%
June 16, 2011 07:30 PM UTC
43 Comments
Support for marijuana legalization (which I oppose) includes many conservatives and libertarians who will never, EVER vote Democrat. See Rob Corry, Ron Paul.
And it’s the Obama administration putting the screws to the pot shops, isn’t it?
Superficially, you might be right about uninformed hippie recreational voters, but in reality it’s much more complex than simple R vs. D. Ds are not nearly the friends of druggies they are believed to be…
A marijuana legalization measure will encourage Republican turnout. This isn’t good for Obama at all.
Gotcha.
At a minimum to just gain my interest, the advocates have to build in two things into any ballot initiative:
1) Only Colorado Citizens could buy marijuana in the State of Colorado. This will prevent the petty crime problems associated with drug tourism…which is an issue the Netherlands has struggled with recently, and has passed a similar law.
2) The industry would have to test and control the dosages of marijuana they sell. If you go into a liquor store, you know the content of alcohol on every item available for sale, which is on the bottle and certified.
(BTW, they should be doing this already for “medical” marijuana. No one gets a prescription for vicodin from the doctor that says take 3-13 pills every four hours, depending on which pharmacy you go to and which pills are on sale that day.)
Your point 1 would probably just cause a lot of people to buy fake CO licenses. Or come here and get their friends to buy it for them. The problem with drugs is, as Russell Brand famously said (of heroin), they’re kind of “more-ish.” If people are already willing to break the law to buy them, they’re probably willing to break a different law to get some while on vacation.
I like the idea of dosage control, but don’t have enough knowledge to know if that’s reasonable. (Do you have to do expensive lab work on every plant? Or will testing the variety do?)
Overall, I support legalization, but it’ll come with its own set of problems. However, the state needs tax revenues and the biggest opponents of pot legalization are criminals–legalization takes the money out of the black market–so I figure it’s a pretty good idea.
I would like to see pot legalized, but this is a federal issue and not a state issue. Even if this passes, the federal law states pot is a narcotic.
Add to your #1, all pot must be grown in Colorado. The new medical marijuana regulations are establishing a tracking system from seed to sale and it could be expanded, I suppose.
The base document, which the other proposals are based off of, includes the idea of testing. I only read it quickly, but quality control is included in the proposal.
Another thing I like that the proponents did is include the same local option for counties and cities to put to their voters whether they should sell pot or not – like dry counties and cities of old.
They’re mixed reviews on the different strains of medical marijuana addressing your dosage issue. Some people claim that specific strains address specific ailments (most dealing with chronic pain), and I’ve spoken to patients that don’t see the difference at all. But, no dosage standard nor scientific testing is required.
Vicodin, Oxycontin, Valium and aspirin can kill you. Therefore, you must have exact dosage. NO ONE HAS EVER OVERDOSED OR DIED FROM MARIJUANA, EVER! People die from Red Bull and I have never seen a warning on Red Bull.
There is less crime at MMJ dispensaries than any other pharmacy. You are safer in a dispensary than a bank according the Denver Police Department.
No one is coming to Colorado to smoke pot. Please let us not forget you can get anywhere in America by sticking your head out of your car window and asking for it. There is no reason to buy a ticket to come here to smoke. In addition, if i do come here to ski or go to college, getting pot is easier than getting laid.
NOW FOR WHAT WILL HAPPEN ON JULY 1.
1. All MMJ will have the amount of MJ in each edible. At Simply Pure, we have been doing that since we introduced our products. The MMJ amount simply lets the user know what to expect. However, whatever the case you cannot overdose. Some people have felt like they are overdosing, but a time cures that feeling.
2. All pot sold in dispensaries is grown in Colorado. The MMED (Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division) has required that since last July 1. And just for the record, some of the best pot in the world is grown right here in the Rocky Mountains. And i have smoked pot all over the world. Mexican weed is fallacy; no one wants it but high school kids. Cali weed is still brought in, but it is very difficult to move it legally.
I would really like all of us to remember, marijuana is not a new invention. Since the day I entered Mitchell High School and CU, I could get pot easier than i could get a slice of pizza.
Please stop with pot hysterics, we are better off with pot being legal.
Who benefits from the war on drugs?
This is a factual statement backed up FBI findings.
If my word isn’t convincing, how about listening to a former Navy JAG, Federal Prosecutor and Judge.
Or how about Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, http://www.leap.cc/
“treatment counselors” and the like–there is a huge industry that benefits from criminalizing things.
…if you’re going to hoot about the viability of MMJ as a treatment for PTSD, then the industry HAS to have standards for the dosage of THC given to patients using it.
There different levels of PTSD, and they require different dosages of medication to treat, regardless if it’s standard pharmacology or MMJ.
Since dispensaries sell different blends with a variety of sale prices, there’s no way in HELL you can tell me that someone with mental health issues is getting the same dosage of THC each time he or she goes to get a batch of “medication” at a dispensary.
So one batch is is so potent it renders the patient immobile in their home, the next is so light it barely helps with the disorder the patient is suffering from.
NO ONE goes to a tradition pharmacy and gets a bottle of vicodin that has a range of opates in it – and then leave it up to the patient to figure out how many pills they should take.
If the MMJ industry wants to be treated as a legitimate treatment option for disorders such as PTSD, they’re going to have to get their shit together and actually sell a scientifically-based dose of THC for these patients.
I’d just like to point out that there are dispensaries that sell cannabis that has been tested for potency. There are dispensaries that are selling capsules and edibles, as well, with as standardized dosages as possible listed on the label. Here’s one example of a product:
http://delta9tek.com/products/…
Here’s an example of a lab that tests for potency:
http://fullspectrumlabs.com/
Some dispensaries and edible makers have taken it upon itself to do this, in order to address some of the concerns you’ve brought up, and in order to serve their customers’ needs better. They’ve done this before legislation was introduced on this, to boot.
If you’re advising PTSD patients about this, perhaps it would be helpful to suggest they seek out dispensaries that sell products that have been tested for potency.
We grow 100% of our own product, so we control everything. We can guarantee consistency, potency and purity because our product 100% all us, we do not buy “trim” from other growers, we use only bud, no trim.
We are also listed as four of the All Time Best of List with consistency, potency and THC Ratios. http://fullspectrumlabs.com/fe…
We get this and we are doing it the right way! Next week we will be releasing our Simply Home Cooking Line. It will be a specialized line for people to cook at home. The line will include marinara, green chili, tapenade, apple butter, peanut butter, strawberry jam, coconut butter and olive oil.
We are professional and we pride ourselves on that!
http://www.simplypure.com
This is so fucking simple I’m amazed that it hasn’t been done yet – by certifying the THC levels in the product that dispensaries sell to their customers, you legitimize the entire industry.
You also take away any arguments that Big Pharma has with MMJ – provided that someone does an actual scientific study with different dosages of THC and specific physical and mental problems.
But right now (with the exceptions noted above) all I see are stoners with money selling their products like burritos.
http://blogs.westword.com/late…
So maybe standardized extracts will at your nearest pharmacy, soon enough — rather than at that dispensary somehow blighting your neighborhood.
There’s the rub – legalize pot and there will be no more procreating and the pizza joints will go out of business!
OK, maybe not the latter…
Want to solve the budget crisis without rasing taxes on the rich? Legalize marijuana
Bill title: The Omnibus Toke Em and Tax Em Act of 2012.
However, once again 30 mg or two pounds of pot will not hurt you. Every body metabolizes pot differently. Get over yourself. There is nothing harmful about pot.
Google how many people have died from Big Pharma drugs and think about your words and what you should be concerned about. As for treatments, yes, people should try a different range of dosing to see what works for you. Sever PTSD will need a larger dosing. Once again, the beauty of pot is you can try different levels until you find what works for you.
We are working with a young man in C/S and we tried a number of different levels to get the dose right for him. And that dose will change as his body adjust.
Before you go off again, how many times has your doctor adjusted your dosing on anything? It happens all the time. Relax Dan, pot is not Big Pharma – nothing you can do with it will kill you!!!!!!!
Car, your comments make no sense.
WLJ, I love your passion on the subject and I don’t want to mince words, but I’m going to.
If I smoked two pounds of pot, my lungs would be harmed and I’d kill more than a few brain cells. So to claim there’s nothing harmful about pot is a stretch.
Also, pot is a drug that lowers motivation and brain activity which can lead to long term damage in people’s lives. Psychological addiction can be as damaging as physical addiction.
You, and the businesses you cite, are the shining examples of how responsible people can behave and help people with marijuana, but, legalizing the drug, IMHO, is not the silver bullet to societies ills that proponents claim it to be.
Marijuana is not a miracle drug, it is just another drug that people use for many reasons, from pain and trauma to avoidance and addiction.
but, I do think it ought to be legalized. If done by enough states the fed will follow at some point
All your cliams are false:
How many people would you like me to list that smoke MJ and are pillars of society? Let’s start with Presidents. I have done this too many times to keep doing it.
Lack of motivation? Really? How many people motivated people would you like me to name?
Yes, your cousin Ray Ray doesn’t get off the couch, hasn’t had a job in years and smokes pot. He also eats cheerios and drinks beer. Maybe Cheerios and Beer are RayRay’s issues. Or poor parenting or just not a good person in society.
Now how many people in society smoke pot that are motivated? Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Obama, Richard Branson…Scott and I run 3 businesses, former military officers, etc, etc, etc. I have also smoked with many people on this board, CU educators, a couple of elected officals and Montel Williams.
I don’t know Car, but your arguments are really very weak. As for being bad for your lungs, well… according to Harvard, you would be wrong!
http://stopthedrugwar.org/spea…
I’m just sayin’ – If I smoked two pounds of weed, it probably wouldn’t be good for my lungs; and, yes, there are motivated people smoking weed, and there’s people whose use of the drug, how shall we say, de-motivates them.
And don’t be talking bad about my cousin Ray Ray. You want to motivate him, start talking bad ’bout his Cheetos and Bud Light and a can of whoop’ass will pop out of his ass.
Maybe we’ll never agree, but marijuana isn’t all happy and good, there’s bad parts to the drug too.
Car, everything that is abused is bad for you. Food is one of the leading killers in the US. This the major reason that this generation is the first in US history to have shorter life span than their parents due to obesity and diabetes.
Is MJ is safer than food? I know i will not win that argument, but you see my point.
see my new post above. I give a shit about the average stoner who suddenly develops glaucoma, irritable bowel syndrome or agrophobia on Friday night so he can score a dime bag on 32nd & Zuni.
What I care about is the false flag lobbying and marketing effort that the MMJ industry is doing with PTSD veterans. People with Post-traumatic Stress Injuries or any other anxiety disorder do not get to set the dosage and frequency of their meds – so why does the MMJ industry suddenly get to claim that it can do that, without a shred of scientific evidence that MMJ of varying potency and dosage works?
In add to this frogwash, the MMJ industry does not require that a patient be in therapy in conjunction with tokin’ away. Someone smokin’ weed in the dark will cure PTSD or MST without any need of professional help.
This is personal to me because one of the clients at the Vet Court in CoSprings was doing exactly that – smokin’ in the dark and refusing to go to therapy ANYWHERE. Judge Crowder and his PO tried their best, but he decided he’d take a felony conviction and smoke dope than get help for his PTSD.
And I hold the MMJ industry responsible for that!
But please don’t perpetuate the perception that random conditions such as IBS or agoraphobia are MMJ-approved under Colorado law. Any doctor prescribing for the latter two you listed would be subject to criminal punishment. Here are the conditions permitted:
I believe no conditions have ever been added under (III), thought there was an effort to add PTSD that failed, if I recall correctly.
Most of the conditions approved are very difficult to fake–which is why most of the fakers have “severe pain.” However, since pain is highly subjective and MMJ is much safer than pharmaceutical treatments for it, I think the greater risk to patient health would be to deny people who claim pain their marijuana and send them (if they truly are in pain) scurrying for Vicodin and Percoset, which are highly addictive and are frequently responsible for deaths.
Are you arguing for more use of harmful drugs? The vets i have spoken with are very happy with the results of MMJ. In my book anything is better than a loaded service revoler and a bottle of Oxycontin!
Marijuana Vs. Anti-Depressants for PTSD Marijuana Wins Hands Down
Dr. Phillip Leveque spent his life as a Combat Infantryman, Pharmacologist, Forensic Toxicologist and Physician.
http://www.salem-news.com/arti…
You can post all the newspaper articles or personal anecdotes you want – show me ONE SCIENTIFIC STUDY that studied the use of THC in treatment of Post-traumatic stress injuries or other anxiety disorders.
There is none. NADA. Niets.
Now, do I believe the Vietnam and other vets I know who tell me that MJ is the only thing that helps them sleep at night? Yes – but all of them are in some sort of therapy, be it formal or informal.
The MMJ industry is screwing over PTSD vets in their rush for perceived legitimacy – simply by handing out baggies of dope with no dosage or potency control standards. Yes, congrats that your dispensary follows some of this. But the vast majority of your industry does fuck-all in this respect.
Most importantly, there’s never been even a half-hearted attempt to require anyone (Vets, battered partners, first responders) getting MMJ for anxiety disorders to also attend therapy or counseling AS A CONDITION OF GETTING THE DRUGS! That does not happen with traditional meds for anxiety disorders treated in the traditional way.
Instead, your industry is handing out bags of a drug to a patient population that already self-isolates and is choke full of denial…and smoking an uncontrolled, unmeasured and varying potentcy dose of a drug that supports and enables that behavior is WRONG.
As an industry, come up with some binding rules that makes MMJ a respectable industry that’s focused on a positive patient outcome…a not collection of ugly storefronts selling discount dime bags with your member card.
I agree, not all of the industry is helping. But like all things, there are people working hard to move things forward and those that aren’t. I hear you, therapy in conjunction with any drug is important. However, i would argue that a patient should be given the CHOICE of natural or chemical healing. No, MMJ will not work for everyone. Neither does Oxycontin.
And there are so few studies, because MMJ is a Schedule 1 drug. We are cheating ourselves by not having the abilty to discover all of what this plant can or can not do.
Your industry is rolling in dough – and it’s not like there hasn’t been research done in other countries like the Netherlands or Germany.
Commission a study that has some scientific respectability on the uses of natural THC in treating anxiety disorders, and use THAT as your leading argument for the expansion of MMJ…
Nor would the study be taken seriously if Simply Pure presented a study that showed MMJ is a wonder drug.
No studies will happen until it is at least decriminalized.
Why are you so angry over this? I do stand behind the fact MMJ is not making anything worse and some people it is making better.
Dan, isn’t there a whole lot of PTSD self-medicating occurring right at this very instant courtesy of the corner liquour store?
I guess the difference then is that liqour stores aren’t promoted as medicinal outlets?
Other than that, I’m not sure I see a whole lot of difference. And, I personally come down on the side that thinks that MJ is less harmful than alcohol (although IMO neither can realistically be considered “restorative.”)
and that prescription doesn’t read:
“BOOZE – drink as much or as little as you want in whatever time period you decide as appropriate. And choose any strength of booze from wine to shots of double-strength Slivovtiz.”
The fallacy of some (and I think most) MMJ prescriptions is that the person writing the script has a long-term, professional medical or behavioral health care relationship with the patient, and that professional has prescribed MMJ as part of a larger comprehensive treatment plan.
“GO SMOKE AS MUCH DOPE AS YOU WANT” does NOT fulfill the standards of a professional care plan.
For instance, plenty of primary care physicians prescribe benzodiazepines (i.e., Xanax, sometimes Valium), without a mandated follow-up. It’s not something that is just prescribed by psychiatrists in conjunction with therapy. The prescription may even be coded by the HMO as being used for an “anxiety disorder,” even if one informs the doctor that the usage is infrequent (i.e., not every day) and simply for moderate levels of anxiety.
but when a patient takes that script to get filled, he doesn’t shop between Walgreen’s “Top-Shelf Strains” of Xanax and Target’s generic version of Alprazolam that includes 25% off on pipes.
That patient, regardless of what pharmacy he or she takes that script to, will get x amount of pills of Xanax or Alprazolam in (for example) 20mg strength.
The strength of the drug does not vary between providers – which is something the MMJ industry can NEVER EVER CLAIM!
Yet you are blaming the entire medical marijuana industry for someone charged with a felony who flunked Vet Court? Rationally, I don’t think that you can expect that everyone who is in Vet Court — or Drug Court, for that matter — is going to succeed.
Which, depending on which version of DSM we’re playing along with, lists PTSD (or MST) as an “anxiety disorder.”
Rationally, I don’t think that you can expect that everyone who is in Vet Court — or Drug Court, for that matter — is going to succeed.
In CoSprings, 382 screened since the end of the year, 60 diverted to VTC in treatment, and 2 failures – one who went “over the hill,” and the example above who decided it was better to sit in his apartment and smoke his “prescribed” MMJ and not go to any treatment at either the VA or Vet Center.
If you want to throw out lame-ass statements like that, at least do some research.
I don’t know where you’ve come up with that, but it’s not from researching our state law.
Here are the conditions for which marijuana can be recommended:cachexia; cancer; glaucoma; HIV/AIDS; muscle spasms; seizures; severe pain; severe nausea.
It would be listed as a treatable condition if the MMJ community had their way.
Some advocates bashed Dr. Calonge, not to his face mind you, saying horrible things because the man wouldn’t deign to hear why PTSD should be treated with MMJ.
As you know, he did, and refused to follow the wishes of the MMJ industry.
Interestingly though:
http://colorado-medical-mariju…
I quoted the actual law to you last week. It’s in a post right up there. You can’t pretend you don’t know anxiety isn’t listed. I’m not saying every doctor knows that–incompetence happens–but if a doctor prescribes weed for anxiety they are subject to arrest and criminal/civil penalties already, because it is not legal to prescribe MMJ for conditions not listed.
Look, I’ve heard people say they have their cards for anxiety before, too. They’re lying or their doctor is committing a crime. Most likely, they’re lying, because in this state you really don’t have to even have a card for people not to bother you (or so I hear) just say you do and nobody gives you a hard time for smoking.
But come on, seriously, you are a better advocate than this. Know the law you want to change before you demand it be changed.
The doctor recommendation form for a patient to use marijuana is included in this packet from the state health department:
http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/h…
The doctor needs to check one of the boxes. None of the boxes listed are for “anxiety.”
I’m getting the definitive info now on my guy, but the only “legit” diagnosis that can be tied to PTSD is Severe Pain.
Based on that, then no one in this state can say that MMJ is being used to treat PTSD or MST. So, what lies did that vet tell a provider in CoSprings to get his card? If he has no legit reason for using MMJ and he initially requested to be seen in the Vet Court, then he shouldn’t be smoking, and he should have to turn in his bogus card.
Since there is no legit examples of MMJ in treating PTSD/MST in the state of Colorado, the industry needs to stop using this false flag example until they can come up with a better reason than “New Mexico does it.”
I’m not requesting the law be change – I want it fucking enforced.
That’s a legitimate argument: Either we need to add PTSD through the specific process set up by Amendment 20 for adding a condition (which so far has been attempted with no success because the review board is extremely strict) or the existing Amendment 20 needs to be legitimately enforced, targeting health care providers on both ends (doctor and dispensary) if they provide MMJ prescriptions or products for conditions not listed.
I will say, I’m not concerned about a lack of appetite for enforcement right now. I think it’s just a process of prioritization. I know a few dispensary owners and because municipalities keep passing their own dispensary zoning and regulation ordinances, plus there’s the state level, right now what they are seeing is a LOT of inspections where they get orders like “you need an accessible restroom in your grow warehouse” and such. Individuals with illegitimate cards and individual doctors giving illegitimate diagnoses appear to be at the bottom of the enforcement heap–not that they won’t be addressed, but that right now the time is being focused on zoning and building issues.
Severe pain is currently the diagnosis that gets abused, but I really don’t have much of a problem with it, since there’s no way to prove whether or not someone is in pain. If they are and get denied MMJ, they will find a doctor willing to give them narcotics, which are addictive and potentially fatal. If they aren’t, then it’s a shame they’re making legitimate patients look bad, but that’s a problem on the doctor’s end; docs need to be working with individual patients to ensure that there are enough hoops to jump through to dissuade people just tire-kicking to see if they can easily get a patient card and have a little less risk of prosecution.
One thing I feel would be beneficial: Take some funding and create a completely plain language, factual brochure on Colorado’s medical marijuana law that explains things like “just because you have a card doesn’t mean you can’t get fired for using marijuana.” If people were aware that they don’t actually have a literal get out of jail free card, and that all an MMJ card does is entitle them to pay dispensary prices and use an affirmative defense if charged, not smoke in public or stop hiding it from employers and landlords, I think fewer people would bother with the time and expense of getting a card illegitimately.
Marijuana prohibition has been a goddamn racist enterprise since the beginning. And a waste of law enforcement time and resources. Period.