The bad news: Denver voters approved Initiative 300 in the November, 2016 election. Initiative 300 bypasses Amendment 64’s constitutional promise that legalized marijuana could not be consumed publicly. It permits Denver’s bars and restaurants to apply for marijuana social use permits under certain conditions.
The good news: Less than two weeks later, Colorado’s Department of Revenue issued a regulation prohibiting marijuana consumption at any liquor licensee, including bars, restaurants, and special events. Given a choice between permitting on-site public use of pot or keeping a lucrative liquor license, it is unlikely that any bar, restaurant or licensed special event will take advantage of Initiative 300. Laws already prohibit the use of marijuana where it is sold, so any pot used pursuant to Initiative 300 must be supplied by users, not by the public venue permitting its use. The new regulation was announced the next day in a four column Denver Post headline, “Liquor and pot don’t mix.”
The bad news: The Denver Pot Pushing Post continued its chronic practice of violating journalistic integrity in its front page article that announced the Department of Revenue’s ruling. Author Jon Murray interviewed and quoted weed activist Mason Tvert, who called the ruling absurd. He also interviewed and quoted activist Kayvan Khalatbari who used his favorite term of “perceived” concerns to discredit the scientific evidence that the impairing effects of alcohol and marijuana’s THC on automobile driving are either additive or synergistic, depending upon the impairment assay used. Murray provided no information about this road safety hazard and interviewed and quoted no one in command of the scientific facts concerning THC and alcohol impairment.
The Pot Pushing Post‘s unbalanced marijuana reporting and editorial support of pot use continues. No wonder Denver residents continue with their foolish choices. No wonder so many journalists are viewed with contempt.
The good news: President-elect Trump’s choice for Attorney General, Senator Jeff Sessions does not support legalization and commercialization of pot. There is hope that he could reverse the 2009 Ogden memo and 2011 Cole memo issued under the authority of President Obama’s Attorney General. Those memos announced that the federal government would not enforce select federal laws, thus enabling the commercialization and legalization of marijuana.
The bad news: The National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws (NORML) has already begun a campaign to derail Senator Sessions’ Senate confirmation hearing. Nevertheless, people are still hopeful that marijuana will be legalized.