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8 Harv. L. & Pol'y Rev. 359 (2014)
Marijuana Legalization in Colorado: Learned Lessons

handle is hein.journals/harlpolrv8 and id is 367 raw text is: Marijuana Legalization in Colorado: Learned Lessons David Blake* and Jack Finlaw** In 2012, proponents of marijuana legalization gathered enough signa- tures to place an amendment to the Colorado Constitution on the statewide ballot. The initiated measure was marketed as The Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act of 2012 but was commonly known as Amendment 64.1 Proponents asked Colorado voters to launch a great social experiment: the legalization of marijuana by the State of Colorado despite the substance's federal illegality.2 On November 6, 2012, fifty-five percent of Colorado vot- ers approved Amendment 64.3 It is now codified in the Colorado Constitu- tion as Article XVIII, Section 16.4 Amendment 64 did not pass without significant political opposition. Democratic Governor John W. Hickenlooper, Republican Attorney General John Suthers, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and numerous other officials in Colorado campaigned against decriminalizing adult use of marijuana for recreational purposes. However, the anti-legalization campaign had very lit- * David Blake is Deputy Attorney General for Legal Policy and Government Affairs in the Colorado Department of Law. Prior to joining the Colorado Department of Law in 2010, Mr. Blake served in a variety of roles with the U.S. Attorney General's Office between 1996 and 2010. His assignments there included working for the Office of Legislative Affairs and in the National Security Division, serving as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Columbia, acting as counsel to the Guantanamo Detainee Review Task Force, and working as a trial attorney in the Civil Division. Mr. Blake is a 2007 graduate of the George Mason Univer- sity School of Law and a 1996 graduate of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. ** Jack Finlaw is Chief Legal Counsel for Colorado Governor John W. Hickenlooper. Prior to joining the Governor's Office in 2011, Mr. Finlaw held a series of appointed leadership positions in Denver city government between 2003 and 2011. Mr. Finlaw was a corporate and securities lawyer in the cable television industry from 1984 until 2002. He is a 1981 graduate of the University of Denver College of Law and a 1978 graduate of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. The views expressed in this article are the authors' only and should not be taken to reflect the views of any Colorado governmental department or official. I See LEGIS. COUNCIL COLo. GEN. ASSEMB., 68-614, Ist Sess., at 7 (2012), available at http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite?blobcol= urldata&blobheader application%2Fpdf&blob key= id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere = 1251822971738&ssbinary =true; COLO. CONST. art. XVIII, § 16(3)(d). 2 21 U.S.C. § 812(c)(10) (2012). Amendment 64 received about 60,000 more votes than did President Obama among Colorado voters. Compare Presidential Electors, COLo. SEC'Y OF STATE, http:// www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/Results/Abstract/2012/general/president.html (last visited April 20, 2014) (showing 1,323,102 votes for President Obama), with Amendments and Pro- positions, COLO. SEC'Y OF STATE, http://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/Results/Abstract/ 2012/generallamendProp.html (select drop-down option for Amendment 64) (last visited April 20, 2014) (showing 1,383,140 yes votes for Amendment 64). 4By proclamation of the Governor it became law in Colorado on December 10, 2012. Colo. Exec. Order No. D 2012-052 (Dec. 10, 2012), available at http://www.colorado.gov/cs/ Satellite?c=Page&childpagename=GovHickenlooper%2FCBONLayout&cid= 125163768965 5&pagename=CBONWrapper.

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