Amendment 64 Repeal?

Midterm elections will be rolling around in November. In addition to the usual state and local offices up for grabs, we are likely to see a ballot initiative to repeal Amendment 64! Unbelievable! Can't happen here? So many good people worked very hard and smart to get A64 on the ballot and motivate people to vote for it.

Colorado wound up blazing the trail, setting examples for other states to get smart, legalize and regulate marijuana. I remember officials from these states visiting dispensaries and grow houses, learning from our successes and problems.

I worked in the MJ biz for 4 years before finally retiring back in 2018, so yes, I'm out of touch with the movers and shakers. Back then (2014), an applicant for a badge had to pass several deep and detailed background checks, as well as pay a $150.00 fee. The state wanted employees to have clean everything records.

As the legal rec industry expanded, there was a labor shortage, making it easy to get hired if you had a badge and were willing to work and learn. A few years later, responding to the shortage, the MED relaxed some of the requirements and cut the fee in half, thus expanding the labor pool.

Fast forward to now, seems we have a local Attorney, Dan Caplis, who wants to see A64 repealed. He has a M-F radio program on KHOW AM 630, 4PM to 6 PM. I have listened to his opinions about legal weed. Made me think about switching stations, but I hung on because I needed to know more about this topic. He regards MJ Industry workers as "Dope Dealers."

Of course, he has a right to his opinion, 1st amendment freedom of speech. He's also expressed concern about the Federal re-classification of MJ from schedule of 1 to 3. He considers  this to be a huge mistake.

His legal specialty is car and truck accidents. He's been doing such cases for around 30 years, building up a substantial war chest to spend on this. Mr. Caplis is a top notch lawyer, very serious, talented and persuasive.

I checked Jena Griswold's website to find out how many voter signatures are required to get the measure on the ballot. There's a formula that gives the number at 124,238 as of 2 years ago, when her site was last updated.

If a ballot initiative aims to change the Colorado constitution, no number given, as it is constantly changing. Simply stated, it takes around 2% of total registered electors to make the ballot.

These signatures are usually collected outside of high traffic stores. As you approach the store, a person will ask you if you are registered to vote, then ask you to sign the petition. This process costs money and he's got what it takes.

Mr. Caplis talks a lot about some of his car crash cases where a person was driving stoned. Some of these accidents are indeed tragic and some fatal. Agreed, one should never drive stoned, drunk, distracted by phones, texting or otherwise impaired. Alcohol + THC is way worse than either alone. Throw in a phone plus a lead foot and you've got a high probability of an accident.

We already have some very tough laws concerning such dumb behavior. Though rarely mentioned, accidents caused by drunk drivers greatly outnumber accidents caused by stoned drivers, texting, phone use, etc. Should alcohol be illegal again? Prohibition was a huge failure because almost 3 of 4 people use alcohol on a regular basis. Same result if tried today.

Should cell phone "immobolizers" be installed in the cars of drivers who caused an accident because of cell phone distracted driving? Kinda like the breath interlock for alcohol drivers. The car will still work, but the phone won't work until the car is parked. The jamming tech to do this exists.

People will get their weed, legal or not. Some will drive to another legal state to make their purchase. Repeal could have just the opposite effect with more impaired driving.

Another of his major talking points concerns MJ use by under 21 people. Agreed, unless they have a medical card, those young people should not be using the product. We already have strong laws, rules and regulations to prevent just that. No dispensary employee will ever let a minor into their shop. Will never happen. If a minor has some weed, it's likely a parent or older friend got it for them. Same goes for alcohol, tobacco and Firearms (ATF).

Even trades people (plumbers, electricians, carpenters, etc.) are issued a temp badge from the employer for the time they are working on the property. ID required. Employers keep a log book of the temp badges, who, what, when and where.

One of my friends went into a dispo and mentioned she was buying it for a friend, (a 26 yr old man w expired ID), big mistake, she was quickly escorted out the door. Exactly what was supposed to happen. After learning that little lesson, she just went somewhere else and kept her mouth shut.

Mr. Caplis does not seem to realize the absolute economic disaster should his efforts succeed. Will it revert to the old medical system (anyone remember those big red cards?), or become completely illegal again? I don't know, but I do know that I love to go into a nice dispo to make my purchases. I'm happy to pay the taxes to help keep it legal, happy to pay to help good folks stay employed.

Just imagine having to do business with the shady neighborhood pharmacist again and be subject to arrest, jail, car asset forfeiture, legal case and possible prison sentence. Getting caught will cost you a lot of money. Dumb states such as Kansas still do that to those unlucky enough to be pulled over there driving with a Colorado license plate.

Lawyers, police, sheriffs, courts, jails and prisons all stand to benefit if A64 is repealed and they know it. Just guess how they will be voting. Mr. Caplis knows he can count on these people to do what they can to help him.

Investors stand to lose lots of money. Grows and dispos will close, all their employees (27,000 and slowly declining over the last few years) will be hunting a new job in an already stressed out job market. It's not just the major MJ companies, as there are many other types of industries that make and sell supplies and services to MJ businesses. We'll see layoffs in those sectors as well.

Free magazines such as the Westword, the Rooster and other local publications that survive on dispo advertising will close or become a shadow of their past glory. The state and city/county budget woes, will get much worse without the MJ tax revenue and the many permit fees paid to government agencies.

Repeal will also distort the local commercial real estate markets. There will be plenty of small retail shops and former industrial sized grows dumped on the market. It will take many years for landlords to find new tenants or buyers for their empty properties. Same goes for the general residential housing markets.

Who knows how many people will wind up moving to another legal state, just like they moved here? Meaning empty apartments and homes on the market. Good for people wanting to buy a house or rent an apartment. Not so good for property owners, lenders and Real Estate agents, both commercial and residential.

Repeal will also cause major ripples in both the state and local general economies, all those unemployed workers won't be spending at restaurants, stores, coffee shops, car sales and services, etc.

Several years ago, there was a ballot measure to more than double the price of a pack of cigarettes. It passed around 80/20. More recently, flavored tobacco products (including menthol) were banned because the majority of voters became convinced that stores were selling those products to minors, which is totally illegal to begin with.

No store clerk will risk getting caught, as there are "testers" out there in the wild. Cameras too. Joe Camel RIP. ID is required to visit all tobacco, liquor, firearms and marijuana stores. I mention this because there is a real possibility that enough voters will be convinced to vote for the A64 repeal. This will turn into a war for votes.

When I visit a dispo, I always inform the employees about Mr. Caplis and his plans to repeal A64. So far, no one has  heard about this. Don't underestimate Mr. Caplis, as he is a very determined lawyer. It's now a matter of spreading the word far and wide, ringing the bells of Colorado freedom once again. We are going to need some deep pockets to defend against this.

Ole Larsen
Denver