Breckenridge, CO: City voters will likely decide this November whether to eliminate all criminal and civil penalties that prohibit the adult possession of marijuana.
Proponents of the measure, Sensible Breckenridge, gathered 1,400 signatures from registered voters to place the measure on the municipal ballot. The total was nearly three times the number of signatures needed to bring the issue before a public vote.
If enacted, the measure would remove all citywide penalties – including fines – for the adult possession of up to one ounce of marijuana. The initiative would also eliminate local penalties prohibiting the possession of cannabis paraphernalia by those age 21 or older.
The Breckenridge Town Council has the opportunity to enact the proposed ordinance at its next meeting on August 11. If council members fail to act on the measure then it will go before local voters on November 3.
Denver voters supported a similar measure in 2005.
In 2006, over 70 percent of Breckenridge voters endorsed Amendment 44, an unsuccessful statewide ballot initiative that sought to eliminate certain marijuana.
For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500 or visit: http://www.sensiblecolorado.org.