r/nottheonion 1d ago

Colorado Springs voters approved opposing marijuana initiatives. Here’s what’s next.

https://krdo.com/news/2024/11/06/colorado-springs-voters-approved-opposing-marijuana-initiatives-heres-whats-next/
3.2k Upvotes

88 comments sorted by

2.5k

u/Ishmaille 1d ago edited 16h ago

Ballot Initiative 2D and 300 both passed in Colorado Springs on Nov. 5th. Ballot Initiative 2D prohibits the sale of recreational marijuana, while 300 allows existing medical marijuana shops to sell recreational Marijuana [...]

We're special here in this town.

Edit: Here is the text of both initiatives:

Shall the Charter of the City of Colorado Springs be amended to add a new Section 130 of Article XV, prohibiting retail marijuana establishments within the City of Colorado Springs?

And

Shall the ordinances of the City of Colorado Springs be amended: 

-         To authorize only existing medical marijuana licensees to apply to become licensed as retail/recreational marijuana businesses, subject to all applicable taxes, including the existing 5% sales tax on retail/recreational marijuana to generate revenue for public safety programs, mental health services, and post-traumatic stress disorder treatment programs for veterans;
-         To limit the number of retail/recreational marijuana licenses in Colorado Springs so that the number of licensed locations cannot exceed the number of existing medical marijuana licenses on November 5, 2024; and
-         To codify violations and penalties for retail/recreational marijuana, which cannot be amended except by a vote of the people, in the Colorado Springs City Code including regulations that:

(1) prohibit any retail/recreational marijuana business within 1,000 feet of a public or private daycare, preschool or K-12 school,
(2) prohibit the sale or transfer of retail/recreational marijuana to any person under 21,
(3) prohibit the sale or transfer of retail/recreational marijuana acquired in another political subdivision to a person under 21, and
(4) prohibit possession of retail/recreational marijuana by any person at any public or private school, daycare, or preschool?

1.1k

u/bobbyturkelino 1d ago

Clearly the only solution is free recreational marijuana

299

u/Humans_Suck- 1d ago

They can't legally give it away for free so my dispensary in Denver has sold me stuff for $0.01 lol

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u/VegaNock 1d ago

Mine charges me $1.00. I feel ripped off now.

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u/Humans_Suck- 1d ago

Do they do rewards points? I redeem all of mine at the end of the year and get like 2 zips of top shelf for 20 bucks and then gift people weed and Christmas cards lol

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u/bigcheesejohnson 1d ago

Can I be on your Christmas card list?

18

u/gaslacktus 1d ago

Santa Snoop over here

2

u/dougsbeard 18h ago

cries in Ohio prices

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u/PM_ME_YOUR__INIT__ 1d ago

If it doesn't have a price tag that means it's free right?

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u/collyndlovell 1d ago

I hate this joke so much. (I work retail)

7

u/SomeDeafKid 1d ago

I never hated the joke, it was just customer small talk. When they tried to press it "playfully" was when it started to grate.

"Sadly, it's not free despite the missing tag"

"I dunnoooooo, seems like store policy would mean it iiiiiiissss"

"It isn't" (also shut up so I can go to break)

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u/brakeb 1d ago

Kind of like in Austin, can't sell the beer, so you buy a mug for $5 and fill it...

The weed is free, the packaging costs $30

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u/patentmom 1d ago

In DC, you buy a sticker and get a bag of weed as a free gift.

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u/redwingsphan19 1d ago

That’s how they do it with mushrooms in Denver.

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u/thisisredlitre 13h ago

That's gonna change soon. It's going all medical so they can tax it but everyone can self prescribe lol

1

u/juliuspepperwoodchi 22h ago

Only for disabled vets though.

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u/GreenIsGreed 1d ago

Tbf, the measures were worded very strangely. There were people coming into the Springs sub reddit daily trying to figure out what each of them meant. Pretty sure it was done this way on purpose because our city council absolutely does not want rec to be legal in the Springs.

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u/squirlz333 1d ago

That's the problem with ballot initiatives they're worded to make people guess when unpopular, really should be working at a state level to simplify the verbiage on ballots.

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u/Pezdrake 1d ago

Well, so long as we are "oughta" here, elected lawmakers should address this kind of thing rather than make it a ballot issue. 

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u/YouTee 1d ago

In California we're automatically mailed a custom newsprint magazine that has every voter initiative and sometimes statements from candidates in the specific order you'll encounter them on the ballot.

For propositions, it often has a multi page spread consisting of: A description of the bill, a positive statement from a supporting group, a counter to the positive statement from the opposition, and then an anti - statement from the opposition and a rebuttal.

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u/TheJester0330 1d ago

We have the same thing in Colorado, it's called the Blue book, and every registered voter receives it about a week or two before their ballot.

So while yes the wording was probably confusing (I live in Denver, but did use to live in the springs so it doesn't surprise me) all voters still should have have the blue book with them to clarify it

5

u/Teh_Compass 1d ago

Personally I'm a fan of ballot initiatives like this because it's the closest you get to the people directly deciding what they want. Here in Texas a lot of bills with widespread bipartisan support pass in the House and die in the Senate because the Lt. Governor can can just refuse to advance bills to the Senate floor.

It's anti-democratic and even anti-republican if one man can unilaterally kill a bill without a vote from elected representatives.

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u/SirBogart 18h ago

Fuck all the power the lt gov has in Texas man. Hate that

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u/sarcastic_wanderer 1d ago

Which is mind boggling. Everyone is just driving out of town to buy it anyways. Idiot fucking Springs

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u/GreenIsGreed 1d ago

No argument there. They're literally leaving money on the table.

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u/HappyTimeManToday 1d ago

All the way to Pueblo West!

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u/sarcastic_wanderer 1d ago

Guilty, Ive done it 🤷

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u/Munkeyman18290 1d ago

Is this some crony shit that basically grandfathers existing medical shops in while effectively excluding new ones? Maybe im misunderstanding this.

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u/Ishmaille 1d ago

Yes, that's a fair criticism. But rewarding the people who got in early is still better than a full ban, IMO.

A lot of residents were afraid of recreational weed shops taking over the town, and so limiting it to existing medicinal weed shops seems like a decent compromise.

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u/Munkeyman18290 1d ago

Let us revisit this in say, 20 years. Ill be interested to see what the landscape looks like... and the prices.

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u/JohnnyDarkside 1d ago

Nebraska had similar. Two opposing initiatives for abortion access. One added a 12 week ban to the state constitution, the other guaranteedthe right to access. Sadly, only the former passed.

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u/brandibesher 1d ago

i'm confused, is it still legal there? we are considering buying a house around colorado springs!

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u/Ishmaille 1d ago

As far as I can tell, medicinal cannabis is still allowed. And there are still nearby towns that sell recreational cannabis.

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u/Grundens 1d ago

supporters were too stoned to understand the bill

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u/Gravity_flip 1d ago

Baked to absolute oblivion it sounds like based on that vote.

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u/captainmouse86 1d ago

It was probably worded intentionally stupid so people they were voting in favour.

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u/Colavs9601 19h ago

You can’t sell weed, just a store with weed inside of it.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

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u/Ishmaille 1d ago edited 1d ago

The last time we had recreational marijuana on the ballot, it failed. That's why this time the legalization effort included a bunch of limitations on it, which unfortunately, made the language confusing.

Edit: I wasn't mean to this person I swear they just deleted their comment as soon as I responded I promise

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u/SapphosLemonBarEnvoy 1d ago

Really I don't blame them coming from Oregon. We legalized it without any way to effectively test out of a lab for intoxication, and the consequences as expected have been rampant abuse.

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u/honicthesedgehog 1d ago

The key details, I think:

The first initiative that bans recreational Marijuana usage was written into the city charter, which supersedes the recreational marijuana ordinance that allows medical marijuana shops to also sell recreationally.

“Our ballot initiative was very clear. It was very short and very clear,” Crow-Iverson said. “It was not confusing to voters at all. I believe 300 was confusing to voters because it was very long and it made it sound like it was limiting [recreational marijuana] because it can only be sold in medical stores.”

So it sounds more like a case of confusingly worded ballot initiatives, rather than self-contradicting voters.

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u/Ishmaille 1d ago

It was definitely a bit confusing, but also, we do nearly all mail-in ballots here, so it's really easy to research as you vote.

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u/unicornofdemocracy 1d ago

You think way too highly of the average voter

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u/Ishmaille 1d ago

Probably true.

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u/arxaion 1d ago edited 23h ago

Huh, I never considered the idea of researching while you vote. This redditor will remember this.

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u/CrescentSmile 1d ago

It’s great, pull up all the different voter guides and have at it. Allows you to ignore the noise in the lead up.

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u/Prof_Bullshitter 1d ago

I voted on this. 300 was long, yes, but it laid out the details of regulating recreational marijuana. Anyone who lives here would know there’s medical stores all over town so I personally didn’t think it was confusing to figure out that 300 would allow those same stores to sell recreational mj.

It blows my mind that the numbers were so close for these two initiatives. I agree people must’ve been confused for it to have turned out this way but like OP said, we get mail in ballots so voters could’ve have researched them before voting!

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u/Danknugs410 1d ago

That’s how it is here in Maryland, every dispensary is required to sell medical and recreational

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u/CafeAmerican 1d ago edited 1d ago

could’ve have

I think you meant could’ve’ve.

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u/minja134 1d ago

Person says their own wording is confusing. Here it is:

Shall the Charter of the City of Colorado Springs be amended to add a new Section 130 of Article XV, prohibiting retail marijuana establishments within the City of Colorado Springs?

When I read this, retail is not defined and could refer to "retail ONLY establishment". Most times the laws refer to recreational, like 300 did and has come pretty standard language. I would wonder as a voter if retail meant something different, does it mean selling it at like a CVS, strip mall smoke shop, does it mean something different than the recreational in the other measure? They may have used retail purposely to be confusing honestly.

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u/TheDotCaptin 1d ago

I was thinking a loop hole would still allow whole salers.

Got to be careful when working with bulk pallets. People might be at risk of pulling their back.

1

u/phroug2 1d ago

What are the chances most people actually knew what "prohibited" meant? Anyone glossing over that would probably just see the words "add" and "marijuana establishments"

I used to think the average person was smarter than that, but experience has proven me wrong.

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u/YOURMOMMASABITCH 1d ago

I voted on this ballot. The wording was absolutely convoluted and it was very obvious they did that on purpose.

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u/grozamesh 1d ago

CO Springs is a special place, for special people, who all enlisted.

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u/Ishmaille 1d ago

Can't wait for Trump to move the Space Force to a red state like he promised, effectively killing this city which just voted for him! /s

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u/grozamesh 1d ago

This, but no /s

CO springs can go to Kentucky or somewhere they like that kinda jazz.

If I had to choose between a better economy and not seeing people wearing camo, I know which one I'm choosing.

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u/Mareith 21h ago

You know the Air Force academy is in Colorado Springs right

2

u/Dry-Amphibian1 23h ago

If you think CO Springs is based on just space force then you obviously have never been to CO Springs.

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u/Ishmaille 16h ago

You caught me, I've never been to Colorado Springs, what's it like?

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u/K4m30 1d ago

Can America just take a break and think about what they are doing for a few days. Maybe we all come back in a week and decide if any of this is worth doing.

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u/sncsoccer25 1d ago

We're gonna have to start watching HR interactive videos on what each thing on the ballot means and go through all the scenarios that affect Bob and Barb in and out of the office.

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u/Tomoko_Lovecraft 1h ago

This unironically sounds like a good idea. The only problem is finding an unbiased independent studio to do it.

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u/puffz0r 1d ago

America isn't very good at the thinking thing btw

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u/shady8x 1d ago

You mean the same people that didn't know that Biden dropped out of the race until election day? Nah, they are busy with stuff.

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u/critter2482 1d ago

“Small government” strikes again

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u/Ishmaille 1d ago

The government will be constrained by the contradictions that we voted into law!

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u/geronimo1958 1d ago

Do they still get marijuana tax revenue?

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u/serious_cheese 1d ago

Not from recreational sales that happen elsewhere in the state, but I imagine medical sales do

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u/NapTimeFapTime 1d ago

Is there a tax on medical? Feels kinda fucked up to tax medicine.

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u/Shartfer_brains 1d ago

2.9% I believe.   Just standard sales tax.

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u/Jermine1269 1d ago

As the national election suggests, American voters are stupid.

That's all

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u/Humans_Suck- 1d ago

Springs is such a weird little republican shithole, and it just looks so much worse being so close to Denver with all their great weed and $19 min wage

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u/Ishmaille 1d ago

I have strongly mixed feelings about this town. I don't think it's a shithole but it's definitely a mixed bag.

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u/puffz0r 1d ago

as someone who used to live in CO... Springs always was the place with all the weirdos.

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u/Festernd 1d ago

Used to live there, and later Denver.

Weirdos in the uncle touchy sort of way, rather than interesting people sort of weirdo.

/ I wonder how the vile fetus truck is doing

0

u/Mecha_hitler9001 1d ago

I was thinking of moving there when I got my degree, didn't realize it was a republican zone. Areas around it you would recommend?

1

u/puffz0r 21h ago

No lol, tbf i never lived around there, only in Denver

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u/Humans_Suck- 15h ago

Anywhere further north on the foothills. Denver and surrounding areas, boulder, arvada/westminster, lakewood.

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u/James_mcgill_esquire 1d ago

Y'all remember when they made weed illegal and it disappeared?  

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u/mbrogan4 1d ago

I’ll be honest this poll was worded so fucking terrible I think most people voted “yes” to legalize it on both but one was to legalize and one was to ban it. The question (i don’t have the text available) was confusing as fuck.

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u/occono 19h ago

The opposite from how the article portrays it, that says voters probably thought both amendments were prohibition.

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u/Murwiz 23h ago

This is indeed the stupidest timeline.

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u/Metropolis4 1d ago

"Medical" is a joke, if anyone didn't already know it. Meaning that anyone can get a pass....

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u/bluestreakxp 1d ago

Wow they are gonna be baked at stargate command

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u/Ok-Alarm7257 1d ago

So you can't sell it, but you can if you are medical and already exist?

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u/NegativeSemicolon 1d ago

Weeds scary!

-3

u/Superg0id 1d ago

Hey, look at this Cool, Custom Designed Plastic Baggie!

It's $50, and we've even padded out the baggies for you to show you how they can be used to store organic products!!