Lighting Up Pot Reform In Breckenridge

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Lighting up pot reform in Breckenridge

By Michael Roberts in News

Thursday, Jun. 4 2009 @ 12:21PM

News flash: If ski towns were super-strict about marijuana laws, those snowy hills nearby would be a lot less crowded. So it makes sense that Sensible Breckenridge, a spinoff ofSensibleColorado.org, would see the community as fertile ground for marijuana reform. To that end, a group that includes town councilman Jeffrey Bergeron is today presenting the Breckenridge clerk with "an official affidavit" in regard to a proposed ballot measure that would "remove local penalties for the private possession of up to one ounce of marijuana by adults over twenty-one."

Too bad ski tourists and other non-residents won't be able to vote on the item. It'd be one landslide a lot of people in Breckenridge wouldn't mind.

Read the complete pitch, and get contact information in regard to volunteering for the campaign to come, by clicking "Continue."

Sensible Breckenridge press release:

Breckenridge Committee Files to Reform Local Marijuana Laws

Prestigious local committee to file with Clerk on June 4

BRECKENRIDGE, CO -- On June 4, 2009, the Breckenridge marijuana reform group, Sensible Breckenridge, will file an official affidavit with the Breckenridge town clerk, announcing its intention to place a measure on the November 2009 ballot to remove local penalties for the private possession of up to one ounce of marijuana by adults over twenty-one. The petitioners' committee filing this affidavit is comprised of a number of local leaders including Breckenridge Town Councilman Jeffrey Bergeron and local attorney Sean McAllister.

The proposed initiative would remove criminal penalties from the Breckenridge Town Code for the private possession of small amounts of marijuana by adults twenty-one or older. The initiative would also remove the local penalty for adults twenty-one or older for the private possession of marijuana paraphernalia.

Breckenridge attorney, Sean McAllister, who started Sensible Breckenridge, stated that "In 2006, 72% of Breckenridge voters supported legalizing an ounce or less of marijuana for private adult use, yet our town is still wasting tax dollars pursuing dozens of petty marijuana convictions of its citizens and guests every year." "As a criminal defense attorney, I have defended numerous locals and tourists for marijuana possession and have seen too many otherwise law-abiding citizens' lives damaged by these zero tolerance laws that penalize adults for making the safer choice to use marijuana instead of alcohol."

Sensible Breckenridge is currently seeking local volunteers to help gather signatures to place the initiative on the ballot and can be reached at 970-453-6594 or sensiblebreckenridge@gmail.com.

Sensible Breckenridge is a project of Sensible Colorado, a statewide nonprofit, dedicated to promoting effective drug policy. Seewww.SensibleColorado.org.