This column originally ran on The Denver Post’s PoliticsWest on April 20, 2009

Pot legalization not just for liberals anymore

By Jessica Peck Corry

At 4:20 this afternoon, an estimated 25,000 marijuana legalization advocates are expected to descend upon two locations in Denver and at the University of Colorado at Boulder for the largest “smoke out” in the world. This overt act of civil disobedience may have liberal roots, but a growing number of conservatives, including myself, are saying that the time has come to end the drug war.

Many elected Republicans have long whispered about the insanity of sending non-violent drug offenders to prison at a cost of nearly $30,000 per inmate per year. Recent fiscal woes, however, coupled with skyrocketing drug violence in Mexico, a growing presence of international drug cartels in the United States, and a new commitment by the Obama administration to send troops to our nation’s southern borders has forced a growing number of conservatives to publicly admit that prohibition is a far greater threat to our nation’s stability than marijuana itself.

As The New York Times noted this morning, the growing movement “has intrigued even such ideologically opposed pundits as Glenn Beck of Fox News and Jack Cafferty of CNN. . . .‘Look, I’m a libertarian,’ Mr. Beck said on his Feb. 26 program. ‘You want to legalize marijuana, you want to legalize drugs - that’s fine.’” And in Colorado, former Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo, is among those supporting legalization. Tancredo recently told Denver Post editorial writer Vincent Carroll.

Tancredo, Beck, and Cafferty aren’t alone. In the 2006 election, a Colorado ballot initiative to legalize marijuana got more voter support than the Republican candidate for governor. It speaks volumes that in a state where Republican and Democrat voters are now nearly evenly matched in numbers, more than four in 10 support legalization. In the end, however, it will take a more sophisticated movement to push the tally over the edge.

As I told a gathering Saturday night at the University of Colorado, “Just because close to 6 out of 10 people voted against the initiative, it doesn’t mean all six of those people are against us,” she said. “It means we haven’t gone out there and done our jobs. We need to lawyer up. We need to put suits on and start playing with the big boys down at the Capitol.”

As Colorado prepares for what is being promoted as the largest gathering of pot activists ever, the question still must be asked: is the 4-20 rally an effective act of civil disobedience? In every social change movement, the grassroots play an essential role. And while CU leaders are busy sending our press releases and campus-wide emails condemning today’s rallies, perhaps they should take a step back and admit what a growing number of community leaders, many in suits and representing an incredibly diverse ideological spectrum, already know: the time has come to end marijuana prohibition.

Jessica Peck Corry (Jessica@i2i.org) is a policy analyst with the Independence Institute, where she specializes in civil rights, higher education, and land use policy.

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2009/apr/19/420-events-conservative-activist-pot-needs/?printer=1/

Conservative activist: Pot needs lobbyists
Corry urges advocates to participate in politics
By Ryan Morgan
Sunday, April 19, 2009

Jessica Peck Corry
More information
www.normlcu.com — A schedule of events for this week’s forum.
CORRECTION 4/19/09: This story incorrectly reported the location of today’s 4/20 marijuana smoke-out at the University of Colorado. Organizers are planning to congregate on CU’s Norlin Quadrangle.
A self-described conservative “soccer mom” told marijuana legalization advocates that they’ll need to do more than smoke pot in public to get drug laws changed during a speech on the University of Colorado campus Saturday.
Jessica Corry, the executive director of the Colorado Civil Rights initiative, said 4/20 “smoke-out” events like the one planned for Farrand Field on Monday are a good way to bring attention to the issue.
But she said people fighting marijuana prohibition also need to participate in the political process — and, she said, advocates need to show lawmakers a sober, serious side as well.
“They’re laughing at us,” she said. “The 4/20 events are fine… but let’s also get people down to the Capitol in suits.”
Corry’s speech kicked off a two-day “National Forum on Marijuana,” hosted by the CU-Boulder chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
The forum, which continues today with panel discussions on campus, precedes the annual 4/20 pot-smoking extravaganza on CU’s Farrand Field, which organizers say will take place on Monday. CU administrators have urged students not to attend the event.
In the past, police and administrators have doused smokers with sprinklers and posted incriminating photos of them online enjoying the illegal substance.
Corry pointed out that the last time marijuana decriminalization was on the statewide ballot, in 2006, it received a higher share of the vote — 41 percent — than did the Republican gubernatorial candidate, Bob Beauprez.
“Just because close to 6 out of 10 people voted against the initiative, it doesn’t mean all six of those people are against us,” she said. “It means we haven’t gone out there and done our jobs. We need to lawyer up. We need to put suits on and start playing with the big boys down at the Capitol.”
She also told the crowd — most of whom, she said, were almost certainly to her left politically — to put pressure on Democratic politicians.
“For all of you Democrats in the room, you need to hold President Obama accountable,” she said.
Corry’s speech included questions and debate with the audience, which consisted of about 50 people of all ages who braved the rain Saturday night to make their way to a CU lecture hall.
Mitch Shenassa was one of those who peppered Corry with questions and asked for debating advice. After the event, he said he agreed with her diagnosis. For too long, he said, legalization advocates haven’t been taken seriously.
“We’ve been marginalized, as a group, by this sort of stereotypical, illegitimate role that’s given to us as the lazy stoner,” he said. “By donning that role, and just standing out on the field and smoking joints, we play right into that. We do need to start playing their game.”
Contact Camera Staff Writer Ryan Morgan at 303-473-1333 or morganr@dailycamera.com.

< strong>What: Jessica will be the keynote speaker at the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) national forum on marijuana at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
When: Saturday, April 8, 2009 at 7 p.m.
Details at http://www.normlcu.com/.