November 7, 2012

On Tuesday, Colorado joined Washington State in becoming the first two states to end the costly and harmful prohibition of marijuana, sending a clear message to the federal government that citizens are not willing to spend any more money and effort on the unnecessary prohibition of marijuana. The amendment passed with a sizeable majority, 54.8% for and 45.1% against with 96% of precincts reporting. The decision means that Colorado adults over the age of 21 will be able to purchase, grow, and consume small amounts of marijuana, with revenue gained from sales going to the construction of public schools. In addition, it will free Colorado law enforcement to pursue more serious crime and will eliminate the racial profiling that so often accompanied marijuana prohibition enforcement.

Many of the "nuts and bolts" of the new marijuana legalization and regulation still need to be worked out by the state legislature and there are still many questions that await answers. However, none of that takes away from the major civil liberties victory achieved by the voters in our state yesterday. 

To learn more about the next steps, check out this video from the Denver Post in which Brian Vicente, Executive Director of Sensible Colorado, discusses the amendment and what it means for Coloradans.

Additionally, the ACLU of Colorado will be working with our coalition partners and others to develop a marijuana legalization fact sheet in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

October 25, 2012

Today, ACLU of Colorado Public Policy Director Denise Maes spoke at a press conference at the Denver Justice Center announcing the release of a new report by the Marijuana Arrest Research Project. The ACLU of Colorado, a member of the campaign in support of Amendment 64, joined the NAACP Colorado/Montana/Wyoming Conference and the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in annoucing the report's findings that significant evidence of racial disparity in marijuana-related arrests exists in Colorado. 

To read the full report, click here. 

For more information on the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, click here.

October 12, 2012

The ACLU of Colorado recently scored a victory that will positively impact future elections in our important swing state. The City of Durango Library Director sent an email to library staff incorrectly advising staff that it was illegal for people to register voters while wearing campaign paraphernalia. An Organizing for America voter registration volunteer working outside the Durango Public Library was asked by a Durango Public Library employee to stop his voter registration activities because he was wearing campaign buttons. The volunteer then contacted the ACLU of Colorado to verify that the city’s policy was not supported by Colorado law. The volunteer’s suspicion was correct, there is no law in Colorado which prohibits private citizens from donning clothing, wearing buttons, or stickers, or otherwise carrying signs indicating support for a particular candidate while registering voters.

 
In response to the volunteer’s report about Durango’s mistaken directive to its employees, ACLU staff attorney Sara Rich sent a letter to the Director of the Durango Public Library to address the fact that library employees were violating the First Amendment rights of citizens and impeding open access to voter registration solely based on the flawed policy. The Durango City Attorney responded to the ACLU of Colorado’s letter and agreed to notify the Library Director and the City Clerk that the City of Durango will no longer attempt to prohibit citizens from registering voters while wearing campaign paraphernalia. This decision brings the City of Durango in line with the law in our state which allows private citizens to register voters while wearing campaign paraphernalia, as long as the individual does not discriminate based on party affiliation and registers all individuals who seek to register.