Marijuana legalization is back on the ballot this year. California voters defeated a legalization proposal in 2010, but now similar measures have cropped up in three more Western states. This time around, some of the most intense opposition is coming from the earlier pioneers of legalization — the medical marijuana industry.
In Colorado, Amendment 64 “would regulate marijuana much like alcohol,” says Howard Wooldridge, a retired police detective from Texas and a longtime campaigner for marijuana legalization. He has come to Greeley, Colo., to wave a sign for the measure. “This would free up precious police resources to go after real criminals, drunk drivers, etc., as opposed to wasting time on a green plant,” he says.
Colorado already has a big medical marijuana industry, but this amendment to the state Constitution takes things further. It would allow people older than 21 to possess limited amounts of the drug for recreational use. People would be allowed to grow the plant for personal use, and the state would be directed to license and tax marijuana stores.
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