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Town of Palmer Lake Marijuana Legalization Referendum, Question 1 (April 2014)
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A Town of Palmer Lake Marijuana Legalization Referendum ballot question was on the April 1, 2014 election ballot for voters in the town of Palmer Lake in El Paso County, Colorado, where it was defeated.
If approved, this measure would have repealed a town ordinance banning recreational marijuana use in the town of 2,500 and would have authorized the retail sale of marijuana in the town. Despite state legalization through Amendment 64, the town council of Palmer Lake voted four against one to outlaw recreational pot use.[1]
According to Palmer Lake mayor Nikki McDonald, there were about 1,900 registered voters in the town. Out of the registered voters, 1,019 of them came out to vote.[2]
If voters had approved marijuana retail, only existing, licensed medical marijuana businesses would have been allowed to sell marijuana until September of 2014.[2]
Mayor McDonald said, “It will be the citizenry's decision. A mail-in ballot will not let anyone have an excuse for not voting.”[2]
Manitou Springs was the first Town in El Paso County to legalize marijuana retail last year. A measure giving voters a chance to outlaw recreational marijuana in Manitou Springs, however, was put on the November 4, 2014 election ballot.
Election results
| Town of Palmer Lake Question 1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 No | 538 | 52.8% | ||
| Yes | 481 | 47.2% | ||
- Election results from Town of Palmer Lake elections department.
Text of measure
Ballot question
The question on the ballot was:[3]
| “ |
Shall the Town of Palmer Lake allow the sale of recreational marijuana within the city limits of Palmer Lake?[4] |
” |
Support
Joshua Havens, a resident who circulated petitions to qualify this measure for the ballot, said, "The majority of voters in Palmer Lake voted for Amendment 64. The biggest thing to us was the Town Council voted it out even though residents voted it in. I wanted it to go back to a vote of the people. This is the only chance we have to make this a real thing."[1]
Opposition
Council member Dr. Mike Maddox was a chief advocate of the ban and did not want to see it overturned. He said, “We haven't backed down. We're adhering to the law. The opposition got enough signatures to get us to rescind (the ban).”[2]
Path to the ballot
On September 12, 2013, the town council voted four to one to ban recreational marijuana sales in the town. Marijuana activists who opposed this ban collected signatures to put this measure on the ballot. Only about 200 registered voters turned out in November of 2013, which means activists only needed about 20 signatures, 10 percent of the voters in the last general election, to qualify this measure for the ballot.[2]
Background
54.6 percent of Palmer Lake voters approved Amendment 64 in 2012.[1]
City and county ordinances
As of April 2014, the following cities and counties in Colorado had approved local ordinances temporarily or permanently banning retail marijuana:[5]
- Weld County
- Otero County
- Morgan County
- Garfield County
- Fremont County
- El Paso County
- Douglas County
- Cañon City
- Castle Pines City
- Colorado Springs City
- Durango City
- Erie City
- Broomfield City
- Estes Park City
- Fort Collins City
- Fort Morgan City
- Glenwood Springs City
- Grand Junction City
- Greeley City
- Lafayette City
- Lamar City
- Longmont City
- Montrose City
- Norwood City
- Palmer Lake City
- Paonia City
- Pueblo City
- Thornton City
- Vail City
- Wheat Ridge City
- Windsor City
- Woodland Park City
- Dillon Town
Similar measures
2014
Recreational
Washington D.C. Marijuana Legalization, Initiative 71 (November 2014)
Colorado:
Maine:
City of Lewiston Recreational Marijuana Legalization Measure (November 2014)
City of South Portland Recreational Marijuana Legalization Measure (November 2014)
Town of York Recreational Marijuana Legalization Measure (November 2014)
Massachusetts:
Michigan:
New Mexico:
Santa Fe County Marijuana Decriminalization Advisory Question (November 2014)
Bernalillo County Marijuana Decriminalization Advisory Question, Measure 1 (November 2014)
City of Albuquerque Marijuana Decriminalization Measure (November 2014)
City of Santa Fe Marijuana Decriminalization Initiative (November 2014)
Wisconsin:
Dane County State Legalization of Marijuana Referendum (April 2014)
Medical
California:
City of Santa Ana Council-Referred Medical Marijuana Regulation Ordinance, Measure BB (November 2014)
City of Santa Ana Medical Cannabis Restriction and Limitation Initiative, Measure CC (November 2014)
City of La Mesa Medical Marijuana Initiative, Proposition J (November 2014)
City of Encinitas Medical Marijuana Initiative, Proposition F (November 2014)
Nevada County Medical Marijuana Cultivation, Measure S (November 2014)
Butte County Medical Marijuana Ordinance 4075 Referendum, Measure A (November 2014)
Butte County Medical Marijuana Initiative, Measure B (November 2014)
Shasta County Outdoor Medical Marijuana Ordinance Referendum, Measure A (November 2014)
Lake County "Medical Marijuana Control Act" Initiative, Measure O (November 2014)
Lake County "Freedom to Garden Human Rights Restoration Act" Initiative, Measure P (November 2014)
City of Weed Permitting Licensing of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Advisory Question, Measure L (November 2014)
City of Weed Outdoor Marijuana Cultivation Ban Advisory Question, Measure K (November 2014)
Lake County Marijuana Cultivation Ordinance 2997 Referendum, Measure N (June 2014)
City of Imperial Beach "Compassionate Access Ordinance" Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Act (June 2014)
City of Napa Medical Marijuana Dispensary Referendum (November 2014)
City of San Jose Medical Marijuana Regulation Act of 2014 (November 2014)
See also
Articles
External links
Additional reading
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Gazette, "Palmer Lake April election will weigh marijuana sales," November 3, 2013
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Colorado Community Media, "Pot sales measure in Palmer Lake set for April vote: Moratorium on the ban of pot sales enacted last month," September 18, 2013
- ↑ Town of Palmer Lake elections department, election results," accessed April 2, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Legalize Cannabis International, "Colorado: Cities and Areas that Have Opted-Out of A-64 Production and Sales of Marijuana," accessed February 14, 2014
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