Free Joints Handed Out At Denver Protest Of Tax Proposal

Protesters gathered in Denver’s Civic Center Park Monday to slam Proposition AA, the statewide recreational marijuana tax proposal that will be decided by Colorado voters in November. Proposition AA would set a minimum tax of 25% on all marijuana sales in the state, which would fund cannabis regulation and school construction in the state. The protest appears to be a smashing success for the organizers, who passed out free joints to the crowd after speaking against the proposition.

Not everyone is happy with the protest, though. Members of Denver’s City Council are appalled by the lack of enforcement of public consumption laws; Councilwoman Jeanne Robb stated “If we are not enforcing now, I can see why people are skeptical that we won’t enforce them after we pass this.” I am not sure what the tax proposal has to do with public consumption, but the Denver Police Department’s choice not to enforce public consumption laws at the protest is in line with their handling of the annual 4/20 rally and should have been no surprise to anyone living in Denver.

Besides the expected nay-saying of a few government officials that opposed legalization, the protest is also receiving criticism from marijuana supporters. Many individuals in the medical marijuana community are unhappy about the events because they lacked the air of professionalism that the MMJ community has worked hard to present in Colorado.

Many others, including Mason Tvert of Marijuana Policy Project, are in favor of the taxes. It may seem strange to favor such a high tax rate, but the shortfalls of the medical marijuana regulatory system were largely financial and led to a system with long waits and little oversight. It is important to note, however, that poor spending was a large factor in the money troubles of the Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division. This has many supporters of a well-regulated marijuana market (including myself) wondering if such high revenues would be wisely spent.