Beware ‘First To Legalize’ Colorado Amendment 64 Merchandise
Some of the most vocal opponents of marijuana legalization this election cycle were the people who smoke pot, usually under the protection of their state’s medical use law, but felt like the initiative on the ballot wasn’t “True Legalization™”. As I predicted, as soon as legalization passed, they would be some of the first to jump on the bandwagon as soon as money could be made.
I was just wrong about the state.
The Cannabis Therapy Institute (under various pseudonyms) is selling merchandise through CafePress under a banner “Colorado Rocky Mountain High” and linking to the Reuters story, “Colorado first to legalize“. But further down the page at Legalize2012.com you’ll find all their arguments against “FAKE LEGALIZATION”.
While the people of Colorado voted for Amendment 64 with 55% of the vote, the people at Cannabis Therapy Institute, people like Miguel Lopez, Laura Kriho, and Kathleen Chippi, were doing everything in their power to make sure Colorado was NOT the “First to Legalize”, including maintaining a “Cannabis Policy Project” blog listing all the reasons to vote against Amendment 64, explaining that “Amendment 64 is the marijuana “regulation” (not “legalization”)”
So… where’s the “Colorado: First to Regulate” buttons?
Laura Kriho is the registrant behind the Legalize2012.com site offering “First to Legalize” buttons, the site continues to explain how Amendment 64 means the “good pot smokers” (a.k.a. those who follow the law) will fund the police enforcement against the “bad pot smokers”, who would be “those with one gram over one ounce, those with seven plants or those who do not want to submit to state over-regulation.” The funds raised by the “First to Legalize” merchandise will help Cannabis Therapy Institute fund “a true grassroots campaign” to fix Amendment 20 (the medical marijuana one), not Amendment 64 (the legalization one).
In other words, the people who were already benefiting from the protections of the medical marijuana law, who then spent money to make sure healthy pot smokers would still be arrested, are the hypocrites who are selling commemorations of the law they opposed that finally protects the healthy pot smokers in order to increase the medical protections they were already benefiting from.
Kriho manages Colorado420.com and Denver420.com as well, both heavily promoting the “First to Legalize” merchandise. ”Legalize it Like Tomatoes” reads their rally caption (ignoring the fact that growing tomatoes in your yard isn’t likely to encourage teens to jump your fence and pick the vines clean in search of a high). Below the trademarked “First to Legalize” graphic is another exhortation that “A64 is NOT true legalization.”
The sales of this merchandise will also help benefit Miguel Lopez and his legendary Denver 4/20 legalization rally. That would be the same Miguel Lopez who went as far as forming a registered committee in opposition to passing Amendment 64. Thankfully, the “No On 64 Take the Greed Outta Weed” committee had apparently not raised any money over two years of campaigning… which kind of explains why Kriho, Chippi, Lopez, and their ilk always fail to get their “True Legalization™” on the ballot.
Republished with the special permission of the National Cannabis Coalition. This article originally appeared on RadicalRuss.Com.
