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Breckenridge Approves Legalization Of Marijuana

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Nov 4, 2009 9:07 pm US/Mountain

Breckenridge Approves Legalization Of Marijuana

Reporting
Stan Bush

BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. (CBS4) ―

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Residents of the ski resort town of Breckenridge voted to legalize adult possession of marijuana on Tuesday.

Voters passed Measure 2F by a margin of 73 percent. It allows adults over 21 years old to possess up to an ounce of marijuana.

The ordinance also removes criminal penalties for the possession of drug paraphernalia.

It was the first ordinance change in Colorado history to remove penalties for both marijuana and paraphernalia.

"This votes demonstrates that Breckenridge citizens overwhelmingly believe that adults should not be punished for making the safer choice to use marijuana instead of alcohol," said Sean McAllister with Sensible Breckenridge in a prepared statement.

"With this historic vote, Breckenridge has emerged as a national leader in sensible drug policy," Brian Vicente with Sensible Colorado also said in the statement.

The campaign received support from Breckenridge Town Councilman Jeffrey Bergeron, former State Rep. Gary Lindstrom, who lives in Breckenridge, and the Summit Daily News.

The ordinance change will go into effect on Jan. 1.

Law enforcement says they are now faced with a challenge. They stress the new law will not create a free-for-all and some marijuana laws are still going to be enforced in Breckenridge.

"You have a conflict between what a municipal ordinance says versus an existing state ordinance and I think that becomes challenging," said Rick Holman, Breckenridge Police Chief. "We will still have the discretion depending upon the situation … whether or not we feel the need to cite someone."

Breckenridge has been treating marijuana as a petty offense with discretion for years and residents probably won't notice the new law's effect.

"I don't think it's really going to change anything up here," Breckenridge resident Aubree Wagner said. "We're pretty laid back up here as it is."

"It's still going to be illegal to smoke marijuana, it's still going to be illegal to sell it, it's still going to be illegal to operate a vehicle under the influence of it," Breckenridge councilman Jeffery Bergeron said. "So this is, I think, more of a gesture."

The vote could be used as to create momentum for a new attempt to decriminalize marijuana state wide.

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