AMENDMENT 65
Campaign finance measure targets spending, fundraising BY JOE HANEL HERALD DENVER BUREAU
The flood of money into political ads on television has caught the eye of campaign-finance reformers, who are pushing Amendment 65. It would change Colorado statutes to “instruct” the state’s nine members of Congress to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to allow Congress and the states to limit campaign spending and fundraising. It also tells the state Legislature to vote to approve such an amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2010 ruled that corporations and individuals can spend unlimited money on political
campaigns. Since then, a few dozen donors have made $1 million-plus contributions to “Super PACs,” a new form of political committee that can be exempt from campaignfinance limits. By amending the U.S. Constitution, activists hope to obliterate the Supreme Court ruling. Colorado has had at least one previous ballot measure that tried to “instruct” members on Congress on how to vote. In 1996, supporters of term limits tried to get members of Congress to amend the Constitution in favor of term limits, but courts threw out the initiative because it tried to attach anti-term limits labels onto candidates’ names on the ballot.
ARGUMENTS FOR: Everyone, rich or poor, should be subject to the same campaigndonation limits, but the Supreme Court’s ruling allows rich people and corporations to wield too much influence. ARGUMENTS AGAINST: Previous campaign-finance laws created a complicated system that favors rich organizations. The First Amendment bars government limits on speech, including political TV ads and other expensive forms of campaigning. There is no organized opposition campaign. PRO WEBSITE: www.coloradoamend2012.org
AMENDMENT 64
Voters will choose whether to legalize use of marijuana BY JOE HANEL HERALD DENVER BUREAU
Several years into Colorado’s experiment with legalized medical marijuana, advocates of the drug want to decriminalize its use for everyone, regardless of health. Amendment 64 seeks to apply many of the laws regulating alcohol to marijuana possession and use. If it passes, Coloradans age 21 and older could legally possess up to 1 ounce of the drug, grow as many as six marijuana plants for their personal use and buy the drug in specially licensed stores. Using the drug in public could still be prohibited. No matter how Coloradans vote, the federal government still treats marijuana as an il-
legal drug. Users and dealers could be subject to federal prosecution. The amendment also calls for the Legislature to apply excise taxes to marijuana. Pro-pot activist Mason Tvert of Denver is the initiative’s main sponsor. Delegates to the Democratic state convention also endorsed Amendment 64. ARGUMENTS FOR: Marijuana prohibition has created a black market for the drug, and by legalizing its sale, the state could regulate it and hand the market over to responsible businesses, not illegal street dealers. People who prefer marijuana to alcohol – a legal drug – shouldn’t be penalized, advocates say.
ARGUMENTS AGAINST: One ounce is a lot of marijuana – about 60 cigarettes. Marijuana is a mood-altering drug that can cause dependence, according to the American Society of Addiction Medicine. Legalization could lead to increased use. CAMPAIGN MONEY: The Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project has given $1.1 million to the pro-64 campaign. As a nonprofit, its donors are not public. Florida nonprofit Save Our Society from Drugs funds the opposition. PRO WEBSITE: www.regulatemarijuana.org. ANTI WEBSITE: www.votenoon64.com