Colorado Police Foundation: Legalized Marijuana may have increased illegal drug trade

Marijuana guidebook colorado police foundation
Although the Colorado Police Association report tries not to take a position on marijuana legalization itself, the facts argue strongly against it. [Click Image to Download the Report]
In a publication just issued, the Colorado Police Foundation and the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police have summarized law enforcement issues related to the legalization of marijuana in that state. This 84-page document covers topics such as the growth and history of legalization in Colorado as well as particular law enforcement issues dealing with establishing probable cause for arrest, search warrants, drug dogs, the continued existence of the black market, threats of explosions and fires, medibles, tourism and public safety, home marijuana grows, changes to hiring practices, the homeless, the presence of large amounts of cash, drugged driving offenses and the impact on youth and education.

One of the statements struck us as being particularly telling — “legalized marijuana may have increased the illegal drug trade.” Page 17.

You simply can’t make something legal without simultaneously making it illegal. And, when you make a commodity legal and tax it you make it expensive and unaffordable to many. Throw in commercialization–advertising, titillation, deception, promises of false rewards, and social norming and you create more would be buyers.

Layer this all with addiction to high-potency engineered and distilled cannabis derivatives and you have the perfect conditions for a burgeoning black market.

Continue reading Colorado Police Foundation: Legalized Marijuana may have increased illegal drug trade

Pro Marijuana Events Face Backlash Amid Poor Legalization Report Card

Colorado's image of fresh air and wholesome fun or haze of marijuana smoke.
The pristine clouds and a Rocky Mountain high have been emasculated by marijuana smoke and drug-induced high. The wholesome image portrayed by Colorado’s tourism board is upstaged on 4/20 by pot activists.
State Tourism and Marijuana Legalization
Scenes like this were the face of Denver and Colorado amid this past weekend’s 4/20 pot celebrations.  What might your State’s tourism image look like under legalized marijuana?

Colorado’s wholesome image of fresh air and exercise, hiking and beautiful scenery gave way again this April to a haze of pot smoke while police largely ignored enforcement of the “no public consumption provisions” of the amendment that legalized marijuana in the state.

Meanwhile, a backlash from local and national groups makes headlines as they give Colorado poor marks in first annual 4-20 Report Card.

Continue reading Pro Marijuana Events Face Backlash Amid Poor Legalization Report Card

Public Health and Pot’s Pandora’s Box — Death Raises Questions

Pot and Pandora's Box

“To open Pandora’s box” means to perform an action that may seem small or innocent, but that turns out to have severely detrimental and far-reaching consequences. [1]

The recent death of a student who jumped to his death in Colorado after ingesting a marijuana cookie is waking many up to what is really being unleashed in the misguided pursuit of marijuana legalization.

In her article in the LA Times, Jenny Deam sees a precautionary tale in the recent death last week of a student who jumped of a balcony after the effects of eating a marijuana cookie kicked in.

Many of her statements reflect the narrative of those who are looking beyond civil liberties, beyond nostalgia, beyond the false dichotomies of justifying another addiction-based vice industry with the evils of two others — tobacco and alcohol — to the downstream realities of legalized marijuana.

“The case has become a grim exhibit in a growing case file as Colorado health officials wonder whether, in the rapid rollout of legalized marijuana, adequate attention was paid to potential health risks of its use”

Continue reading Public Health and Pot’s Pandora’s Box — Death Raises Questions