A proposed constitutional amendment for the Colorado Constitution that would have placed restrictions on marijuana businesses was withdrawn last week by the amendment’s supporting group. Supporters of the motion, called Initiative 139, withdrew the measure last week citing the financial power of the marijuana industry as the main factor for the retraction. If Initiative 139 went to ballot and was actually approved of by voters, it would have resulted in an amendment to the state constitution that would have heavily regulated how marijuana was sold as well as what types could be bought. This amendment would have required: Retail marijuana to be sold in child-resistant packaging Edible retail marijuana products to be sold as individually …show more content…
Los Angeles and Denver are overrun with marijuana stores, and commercialization is influencing the children who are fooled into thinking it’s healthy. If we allow pro-legalization arguments to fly “high,” your state or community will be next. Poppot is a group of parents opposed to the way the pot lobby promotes marijuana as healthy and harmless... We expect that kids will practice risky behaviors, but it’s our job to protect them if we can. There’s not a way to predict which children will have a tragic outcome from beginning to use marijuana and other drugs. Placing heavy regulations on the marijuana market does not seem like the best way to prevent teens from smoking pot. Even with marijuana legalization, the rate of marijuana use among Colorado teens has not significantly increased to a point where one could soundly say legalization results in more teens getting high. If anything, this measure would have ruined Colorado’s marijuana market with no societal
Marijuana has its pro’s but it also has its cons. In its entirety it’s an individual’s opinion on whether or not it’s good for society. To this day there have been several determinations about the legalization of Marijuana in the United States, and the causes and effects it has on society. Mendocino County is known for growing Marijuana in the state of California and is legal for the most part due to the medical use. Cartels however are using this to their advantage and are growing weed within the county to grow Marijuana on their own. Last week the DEA has confiscated over $800 million worth of pot. Three months ago the DEA has also determined that Marijuana has “no accepted medical use” and should
The framers of our Constitution knew that time has a way of changing countries and their citizens. Our country was in a whirlwind of change in 1789 as people were experiencing freedom from the tyranny of England for the first time in their lives. Our country was being molded and formed into a great nation by the founding fathers. Expectations and rules had to be set to protect the rights of the minorities and majorities. Amendments to the Constitution were written to ensure equality for all in changing times.
The topic of legalizing recreational marijuana in the United States has been a very controversial one. States such as Colorado and Washington have gone on the offensive and have legalized recreational marijuana and have enjoyed the high revenues brought in from cannabis sale. On the other hand other states have kept low profiles because they are wary of the possible negative outcomes of legalizing recreational marijuana and are using the states of Colorado and Washington as guinea pigs to see what their next course of action on this controversial topic should be. This is not only a highly debated topic among politicians, but also by the people. According to a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center 52% of Americans
The Preamble is an opening statement of the U.S. Constitution. The Preamble replaced the Articles of Confederation. The 7 principles of the U.S. Constitution is popular sovereignty, republicanism, federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, limited government, and individual rights. It was agreed by the representatives. This is about the U.S. Constitution.
The constitutional amendment prohibiting alcohol failed for many reasons, but mostly because it was a change at the national level that did not have national support. One of the defining differences of the United States is that are overall area contributes to vastly different regional societies with unique morals and principles. The idea of a constitutional ban on all alcohol, marijuana, nicotine, or even caffeine could be welcomed by the majority in certain areas of the country but seen as an abject misuse of power by the government in other more liberal areas. For example, many states have already taken the steps to legalize marijuana sale and possession as a result of overwhelming support from a majority of their constituents. A constitutional amendment to ban marijuana would see the rise of much political unrest in these states and the return of drug cartel based distribution and organized criminal activity.
Right after the U.S. Department of Justice announced in March 2009 that it would no longer prosecute marijuana patients and providers whose actions are consistent with state medical marijuana laws (Meyer & Glover, 2009, para. 1), political windows suddenly opened for California marijuana reform advocates to push for legalizing the recreational use of marijuana. As a result, California Proposition 19, the Regulate, Control & Tax Cannabis Act, became a ballot initiative on November 2, 2010 statewide ballot. Supporters argued that legalizing creational use of marijuana would help California to regulate the use and sale of marijuana, reduce correctional costs, redirect its court and law enforcement resources to other more serious crimes, and collect additional exercise taxes and sales taxes that would help with California’s budget shortfall. In spite of being a
The Legalization of Marijuana in the state of Arizona has been under fire for the past several years. Ever since 2010 when Prop 203, which called the right to have a medical marijuana card in the state, arose it caused a stir in society on which to allow marijuana to be legal. The ballot for the state is set in November and as we approach the deadline many people are coming out with their takes on the issue. The legalization of marijuana has many positive and negative effects on society that make it a tough decision for many voters. Marijuana has been a commonly used medication for thousands of years, the oldest written record of the use of marijuana is 2727 B.C.E. in china, up until 2003 when marijuana was classified as a Schedule 1 controlled substance by the Controlled Substance Act which prohibited use and sale of the substance. This act caused major controversy and sparked many scientific experiments that are still going on today to try to understand the drug.
To amend the constitution, various steps and procedures must be taken. When either Congress (which takes a two-thirds majority vote in both the Senate and the House of Representatives), or a constitutional convention (which takes two-thirds of the State legislatures) want to propose an amendment, they give it to the National Archives and Records Administration. The Congress proposes the amendment as a joint resolution to the National Archives and Records Administrations Office of the Federal Register for the publication process. The Office of the Federal Register adds legislative notes to the joint resolution and publishes it in slip law format. The Office of the Federal Register also puts together an information package for the States
In the United States institutionalized prohibition-based cannabis policies defy widely accepted societal values, delegitimizing the state's authority of law, neglecting its responsibility to respect individual free will and ultimately, the right of self-determination. These unjustified policies take a heavy financial and social toll on society, forcing law enforcement to spend time and money to arrest a majority of non-violent, low level-offenders. In addition, marijuana policies and enforcement have been seen as inherently biased and discriminatory. Not only that, but the medical applications of cannabis are increasingly becoming recognized and accepted as a standard in terms of treating diseases and relieving physical or mental ailments. Furthermore, statistics have shown that legalization leads to a decreased use of marijuana among teens and minors. Dollar wise, cannabis
therapeutically active substances known to man. The provisions of the Controlled Substances Act permit and require the transfer of marijuana from Schedule 1 to Schedule 2.” Judge Young’s order that the marijuana be transferred to Schedule 2 was rejected by the DEA (Nida Info Facts). If that’s the case then how come in California they are protected under a proposition 215 and in Arizona a proposition 200. These propositions permit the use of medicinal marijuana by those in which it is prescribed and if you don’t have a prescription you can get caught by the police with a small quantity without going to jail. Critics of the Proposition 215 in California say its wording is so vague it virtually legalizes pot for anyone (Hedman). In my opinion that saves the state a lot of money by not wasting it on keeping potheads in prison and use it for something California really needs like new roads. So why hasn’t this proposition come up in other states? It might have something to do with the same reason why same sex marriage passed in one state but has
First, the federal government believes that if legislation is passed in legalizing marijuana, illicit drug abuse will increase among the general public (Clark, Medical marijuana: Medical necessity versus political agenda). Secondly, the DEA fears that marijuana serves as a “gateway” drug for harder drugs such as cocaine, heroin, etc. Finally, the federal government contends that legalizing marijuana for medical purposes would contradict the nation’s zero tolerance policy on the use of illicit drugs. Therefore, this legalization could result in corrupting adolescents into believing that illicit drug use is tolerable and even helpful to some degree (Clark, Medical marijuana: Medical necessity versus political agenda). It is the fear of law-makers that similar to alcohol and tobacco marketing techniques, marijuana distributors will advertise to adolescents that substance abuse is socially acceptable (Joffe). While the government focuses its attention on the potential social harms that may or may not arise, thousands of patients suffer from not being given this access to
For the past fifty years, the public has been fed incorrect information about marijuana’s risks by law enforcement and anti-drug groups. Time has changed, because Colorado and Washington State became the first states to legalize recreational marijuana, this has arose the possibility of a rippling effect across the nation. Now, many states such as Oregon and Alaska are voting on this issue. Although medical researchers have claimed that marijuana may help patients and the drug is not as dangerous as informers noted before, legalizing the drug will create a downfall to society by expanding its accessibility to our future generation. Not only will expose our youth to more harmful drugs, but it will also endanger the safety of our community.
In 2012, Colorado was among one of the states that passed the legislation to legalize marijuana for recreational use. Similar to the age limitation set for buying and consuming alcohol and smoking of tobacco products, Colorado has set the age limit for recreational use for adults who are at least twenty-one years of age and over to use an ounce of this drug. According to the drugabuse.gov website, the drug marijuana is defined as a greenish-gray mixture of the dried, shredded leaves and flowers of Cannabis sativa—the hemp plant. After two years of legalizing marijuana, Colorado has had various perks that range from medical, economic, and social. Other states like Ohio and Mississippi are also considering legalizing marijuana after looking at most of the benefits Colorado is having after legalizing the drug. According to the website, The News Nerd.com, after looking at the success the drug marijuana has brought to Colorado, state legislators have decided to try passing the legalization of the drug heroin as well. In this paper, we will look at the pros and cons of Colorado’s legalized soft drug marijuana versus the legalization of the hard drug heroin. We will also look from the opposing view that Peter de Marneffe is trying to make about the drug heroin and how it will affect our youth in their developmental stage of maturity.
Marijuana has been and continues to be a topic of major discussion in the United States. Until recently marijuana was only available in select states to people who have legitimate medical conditions and whose doctors believe that they could benefit from marijuana use. Recently however, both Colorado and Washington have both passed legislation allowing the sale and use of marijuana for recreational purposes for adults 21 years of age and older. These recreational marijuana legislations hold major implications regarding the future of marijuana and its legality in the United States. While this new legislation may be scary to some, I welcome the legalization of marijuana for recreational use for a number of different reasons.
In light of the 2016 election, a new proposition popped up on numerous state ballots throughout the country. In states like Arizona, California, and Nevada, voters will decide on a major policy change – whether or not to legalize marijuana for recreational use. Just a few years ago, Colorado passed Amendment 64, wherein recreational marijuana was legalized to be possessed by persons 21 and older in small amounts, and to be consumed in private. The amendment was passed in 2012 with a majority vote of 55.32% (ballotpedia.org). Looking back on the decision, many original supporters are unhappy with the turn out of the amendment – most particularly public schools, who were promised more funding than they are receiving. Denver