Colorado Springs Officials Sued For Trying To Overturn Voter-Approved Legalization Of Marijuana Sales
“We look ahead to the courts imposing the voters’ will and sending a message to this metropolis council that they don’t have absolute authority.”
By Sara Wilson, Colorado Newsline
Two Colorado Springs residents are suing town over a poll measure set for April that will overturn a latest voter-approved ordinance to permit leisure marijuana gross sales.
The lawsuit was filed in El Paso County District Courtroom on Friday on behalf of Renze Waddington, the proprietor of a medical marijuana dispensary, and Adam Gillard, the manager director of El Paso County Progressive Veterans. It alleges the Metropolis Council violated Modification 64 of the Colorado Structure, which says that native poll measures to ban leisure marijuana gross sales must be on the overall election poll throughout a good 12 months.
“It’s not solely outrageous that this council believes it may well overturn the desire of the voters just because they don’t agree with the outcome, however it’s blatantly unconstitutional,” Tom Scudder, the president of the Colorado Springs Hashish Affiliation, mentioned in a press release. “We look ahead to the courts imposing the voters’ will and sending a message to this metropolis council that they don’t have absolute authority over its residents.”
Voters accredited Query 300 by about 22,000 votes in November to permit licensed medical marijuana retailers within the metropolis to additionally promote leisure marijuana. A competing poll measure to ban leisure marijuana was defeated, although preliminary outcomes urged that it too had handed.
Query 300 additionally included a 5 % gross sales tax for public security applications, psychological well being companies, and PTSD therapy for veterans.
However on January 28, the Metropolis Council voted 7-2 to place the difficulty again on the poll, with some members saying the twin marijuana poll points and premise of Query 300 may have been complicated to voters.
“I believe it actually may have had the influence that one thing handed that almost all of residents don’t actually help,” Councilmember Dave Donelson mentioned throughout a gathering earlier this month.
However the lawsuit argues that such a query can not seem throughout the sort of election.
“The Colorado Springs metropolis council acted with out regard to the Colorado Structure which particularly prohibits town council’s gambit right here,” the lawsuit reads.
The referred measure would ask voters to repeal Query 300, which is functionally the identical as prohibiting leisure marijuana gross sales, the lawsuit argues. The Colorado Structure states that “any initiated or referred measure to ban…retail marijuana shops should seem on a common election poll throughout a good numbered 12 months.”
The lawsuit additionally alleges that the referred measure misleads voters by not mentioning that repealing Query 300 would additionally forestall the gathering of recent gross sales tax income. Plaintiffs need the courtroom to stop the repeal measure from showing on the April poll or order an amended poll title.
Colorado Springs should mail out navy and abroad ballots 45 days earlier than the election, on February 14.
