"They've been working for
years now to come up with a legislative
solution and believe voters will support a revamping of the Colorado
liquor codes, which are primitive," said Denver lawyer Doug Friednash,
who drafted the proposal. "This is excellent for consumers."
A bill allowing convenience stores to sell full-strength beer instead
of limiting them to lower alcohol 3.2 percent beer died in committee
earlier this year.
Liquor retailers leary of competition from grocery chains and big-box
retailers say they anticipate public outcry over a proposal that would
so broadly expand access to alcohol.
"Coloradans don't support this idea at the legislature or at the
ballot box because it puts our kids at risk and kills jobs, all to
increase profits for a bunch of out-of-state corporations," said Ben
Davis, spokesperson for the Colorado Licensed Beverage Association.
The initiative, filed just weeks before the deadline, would have to
garner 76,047 signatures to make the ballot.
So would Initiative 47, a proposal to legalize, tax and regulate the
sale of marijuana.
The initiative, backed by the Colorado-based Safer Alternative For
Enjoyable Recreation, is far broader than the group's last statewide
attempt in 2006 to legalize the possession of small amounts of pot. That
proposal failed by a wide margin, with 58 percent of voters voting in
opposition.
But views are changing thanks in part to the very public medical
marijuana debate happening in the legislature, said Mason Tvert, SAFER
executive director. He's not decided whether to pursue a ballot
initiative this year, but wanted to keep the option open.
"More and more people are realizing this is a relatively safe
substance," Tvert said. "We should just make this very benign substance
legal for adults."
The state's top prosecutor, Attorney General John Suthers, predicted
increases in drug abuse and drop out rates should the initiative pass.
"It's an appropriate question for the voters to address," said
spokesman Mike Saccone. "But Attorney General Suthers will not be voting
for it."
