Columnists at Denver Post and Colo. Springs Gazette express support for the initiative

Positive columns about the initiative appeared this weekend in the state's two largest newspapers, The Denver Post and the Colorado Springs Gazette.

The Post features this great piece from longtime columnist Ed Quillen.  He makes a lot of good points in support of the initiative: it would generate tax revenue for schools; it would save state resources; and adults should have the freedom to decide whether they want to use marijuana.  Perhaps the most interesting, though, is his analysis of how the measure's passage would impact federal marijuana policy. 

[I]f the state halts enforcement, it sends a message to the feds that it's time to give up on this moronic war against a plant — a plant that has never killed anyone with an overdose.

Or at least it worked that way during alcohol prohibition, which was supposed to be jointly enforced by the feds and the states. According to "Last Call," Daniel Okrent's history of the noble experiment, state and local governments saved money by backing off on enforcement.

New York repealed its prohibition law in 1923. "Repeal only meant that New York police and New York courts, no longer bound by the statute to enforce federal antibooze laws, could hand full responsibility over to Washington." Massachusetts likewise repealed its state enforcement law.

The feds were overwhelmed, which provided further evidence that Prohibition was a failure. This generated more public pressure for repeal, which finally happened in 1933. So getting Colorado out of this aspect of the war on drugs could be a good first step on a long march toward simple common sense in American drug policy. If the feds think it's important to protect us from a plant, they can try. There's no reason for us to waste state resources on such stupidity. [Emphasis added]

Meanwhile, Barry Noreen over at the Colorado Springs Gazette used his column to summarize the initiative, preview the debate to come, and express his support.

It’s less about tax revenue, though, than it is about doing the right thing. It’s about time we turned the corner on this and ended pot prohibition, as we did with alcohol generations ago.