Gov. John Hickenlooper made Amendment 64 official on Monday, signing a proclamation that puts it into the state constitution.
In a nutshell, here’s what that means: that it is now legal, in the eyes of the state, for people 21 and older to possess and grow small amounts of marijuana. In coming months, lawmakers are charged with crafting a regulatory framework for manufacture and retail facilities.
Here’s what it doesn’t mean: that pot users are free to light up wherever they want and that they can foist their habits on the unsuspecting without fear of penalty.
We’ll get to the initial point in a moment, but the latter issue is particularly noteworthy in the wake of news out of Boulder.
As The Denver Post’s Ryan Parker reported, two University of Colorado students were arrested after admitting to serving pot-laced brownies to unwitting students and a professor.
Their prank resulted in the hospitalization of three people and the pair now face felony charges as well as disciplinary action from the school.
This story isn’t about legalization, per se. It’s about two idiots who subjected others to unwitting consumption of substance that can be harmful and that many — even some who support legalization — find distasteful.
While we understand the notion of serving the brownies as a youthful prank, the harm and stress it brought to others means the offending students should not walk away scot-free.
Marijuana might now be legal in Colorado, but deliberately harming others is not.
Now, as to the issue of using pot in public: It remains illegal. In fact, there will be many places in Colorado where pot use and possession are prohibited.
Which is why we were disappointed to see CU president Bruce Benson, who opposes legalization, demagogue on the issue in an e-mail to alumni on Friday.
“Marijuana threatens to cost the university nearly a billion dollars annually in federal revenue, money we can ill afford to lose,” he wrote, adding that the school must abide by federal law.
In fact, no such threat exists, as Amendment 64 specifies that schools, businesses and other entities can enact marijuana prohibitions — meaning they can still abide by federal law.
Colorado is embarking on a brave, messy path toward a more enlightened view of marijuana. As such, the more people who behave responsibly and speak truthfully on the issue, the better off we will all be.
The past few days saw a shortage on both fronts.
