Denver City Council: Don't Re-Criminalize Marijuana

Last fall, voters in Colorado and Washington passed marijuana legalization in a historic move. After years of the “War on Drugs,” with billions of taxpayer dollars wasted and communities of color targeted for imprisonment, this marked a turning of the tides toward smarter policies.

Now the country is watching to see how legalization gets implemented in these two leading states. That’s why it's so shocking to learn that the Denver City Council is trying to pass a rule that would re-criminalize marijuana.

The proposed rule would even punish people for smoking in their own home if the odor wafts through the window – a form of extreme government overreach that could lead to a year in jail or a $999 fine, not to mention law enforcement literally sniffing around our homes.

After taking a huge step forward, this rule would be like taking two giant steps back. The Denver City Council is currently revising the proposal, but we don’t have much time to let the 13 council members know that people in Denver and around the country are urging them to respect the will of the voters. And they're not used to getting inundated from tens of thousands of people all across the country, so we know we can have an impact.

Sign the petition urging the Denver City Council not to re-criminalize marijuana.

To Members of the Denver City Council:

We urge you to rewrite the proposed rules ‘concerning the possession and consumption of marijuana so they:
1. Do not recriminalize marijuana possession (in specified public places, such as the 16th St. Mall);
2. Do not impose criminal sanctions for the use of marijuana in one’s home, even if someone can see or smell marijuana from a public area or a nearby property; and
3. Do not overturn the 2007 initiative passed by voters that set targeting people for low-level marijuana possession as the lowest police priority.

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