PROTECT OUR NEIGHBORHOODS

VOTE NO ON ISSUE 300

There are two marijuana-related measures on the ballot: one to legalize recreational marijuana sales (Issue 300) and the other to tax them (Issue 301).

If the legalization measure passes while the tax measure fails, marijuana stores won’t generate any of the tax revenue proponents are promising.

Instead, the rest of us will foot the bill for the hefty governmental expenses associated with policing the recreational-marijuana industry.

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Even if both measures do pass, tax revenue from marijuana never goes where proponents say it will go.

The state promised marijuana revenues would fund education, but have schools seen that money?

Of course not. It’s spent dealing with impaired driving, homelessness, and other social problems made worse by marijuana.

Local marijuana revenues would go into a black hole, too.

There are many other reasons to vote against Issue 300.

Crime

Crime in Colorado is soaring. We’re first in the nation for car thefts; we have the fourth-highest rate of criminals reoffending; and violent crime is at a 25-year high. Legalizing marijuana sales would make things worse, because as drugs become more prevalent in a community, so do other types of crime.

Homelessness

Recreational marijuana sales will also exacerbate the homelessness problem in Colorado Springs. Denver has become a tent city with unsanitary camps lining block after block downtown, and experts say Denver’s marijuana stores are a major factor in attracting transients to the city. If we legalize recreational marijuana sales in Colorado Springs, we will see the same problems here.

120 Recreational Shops

If this measure passes, there will be 120 recreational marijuana stores in Colorado Springs within five months. Future city councils could increase the number of stores to any number they please. Our families shouldn’t have to live in a city overrun with marijuana shops.

Military

This measure would also create problems for our city’s relationship with the U.S. military. With five installations in the region, the military is crucial to the Colorado Springs economy, but military leaders say they don’t want the armed forces based in a city with recreational marijuana stores. Approving this measure will make it more likely the military closes one or more local bases during the next round of closures, severely harming our economy.

Protect our Children

In recent years, THC levels in marijuana have been rising. This isn’t the hippie weed some people remember from the 1960s. It’s lab-designed, high-potency, and dangerous, especially for young people. Doctors say the new, high-potency marijuana is responsible for a growing number of psychotic episodes among teenage users. We need to protect our children from the drug, not make it easier to buy.

Cost of Living

We’re living through a time of tremendous challenges. The price of groceries and utilities are out-of-control. Our city government needs to focus on providing relief to law-abiding citizens, not on constructing and managing a new regulatory regime for marijuana sales. Legalizing recreational marijuana is the wrong priority for our city government.

Please vote

NO

on Issue 300

Paid for by Colorado Springs Safe Neighborhood Coalition