300 Doctors Want Pot Legal In Colorado

One of the more interesting votes that will happen on election day in November is taking place in Colorado. That state is voting on a ballot measure (Amendment 64) that would legalize the possession of marijuana by people 21 years old or older -- and it would allow the state to regulate marijuana and tax it, similar to the way alcohol is handled. This would be a win-win situation for Colorado citizens -- allowing them to get from $5 million to $22 million in extra state revenues without raising taxes (and I'm betting it much closer to the larger number), and keeping many Colorado citizens who use marijuana recreationally from having a criminal record.

This is an idea whose time has come. Marijuana is the least dangerous of all drugs (impossible to overdose on), including drugs like alcohol and tobacco that are already legal. And polls are showing the citizens of the Rocky Mountain State may finally be realizing that. Several statewide polls have shown widespread support for Amendment 64. The latest of these polls is from the University of Denver, and was released this last weekend. It showed 50% of likely voters support the amendment, while only 40% oppose it.

That does not mean the amendment is a sure thing. Polls in California were very promising in the last election for a similar measure, but it was narrowly defeated on election day. But one state is going to pass a measure like this soon, opening the floodgates for other states to follow -- and it might as well be Colorado.

The amendment just got a big boost last Tuesday morning, when 300 Colorado doctors (from 65 localities in the state) held a press conference and announced their support for Amendment 64. Dr. Bruce Madison, former associate medical director of the faculty at the University of Colorado School of Medicine (1997-2004), spoke for the group saying:

"As physicians we have a professional obligation to do no harm. But the truth is that the Colorado marijuana laws do just that, by wasting hundreds of millions of dollars in a failed War on Marijuana, by ruining thousands of lives by unnecessary arrest and incarceration, and by causing the deaths of hundreds of people killed in black-market criminal activities. I am proud to join all of the other Colorado physicians who support Amendment 64, a sensible measure whose time has come."

Hopefully, the stand taken by these 300 Colorado doctors will give Amendment 64 the boost to get it approved in November. After all, these doctors would not be supporting any measure that they believed would be harmful to Colorado citizens.

The criminalization of marijuana was never a good idea, and making it illegal has done harm to this country for many years in many ways. It is time to end this ridiculous attempt at Prohibition (which has been just as spectacular a failure as the first Prohibition was).