Prohibition of marijuana doesn't benefit those prosecuted nor make the larger community any safer. It makes the community less safe by ensuring police and courts have less time to deal with real crimes like murder, rape and theft. We have seen that cuts to public safety budgets endanger both civilians and public safety professionals. Amendment 64, the measure to regulate marijuana like alcohol on November's ballot, would counteract these reductions, allow police to focus attention where it's most needed and stop ruining people's lives for consensual "crimes."
That is why we and many other law enforcement officers urge you to vote yes on Amendment 64. Essential public services are like air. You only notice when you need them and they're not there. In 2010, the budget situation in Colorado Springs got so bad that the city slashed bus services, stopped maintaining its parks and reduced its public safety budget by 8 percent. The 39 firefighters that got laid off were badly needed this June, when despite heroic efforts by their colleagues, the Waldo Canyon wildfire killed two, destroyed 350 homes and burned more than 18,000 acres of land.
There's no telling how much difference having the extra firefighters would have made, but to some of the families who lost their homes, their extra effort may have made all the difference in the world. The wildfire was a terrible tragedy that should not be underestimated. But it's a worst-case scenario version of tragedies that occur every day when governments are forced to make cuts to essential services. The police force was also reduced in Colorado Springs in 2010 — they now have 50 fewer employees.
That means more officers going into potentially dangerous situations alone, longer response times for calls and more violent criminals on the streets. People die because of all of these things, too, though they make for a less dramatic news story. But the news isn't all bad in Colorado Springs. Two years after those budget cuts, many services have been restored. The buses are running on Saturdays and the parks are being watered again — largely because of a new revenue source that brings the city $50,000 a month: taxes on medical marijuana.
Amendment 64, on the ballot this November, would do for the state of Colorado what medical marijuana has done for Colorado Springs on a much grander scale. In addition to saving money spent now on arresting people for marijuana, the Colorado Center for Law and Policy estimates the measure would generate new revenue to the tune of $32 million a year for the state and $14 million for local governments, including $24 million that would go directly to schools. That $24 million will help kids more than prohibiting marijuana ever did. Criminal markets aren't as choosy about their customers as those regulated by the government, and many studies suggest regulation would make it less likely that those under 21 could get access to marijuana.
But the measure helps communities in another way, too. One hundred million Americans have tried marijuana. Most of them got away with it. They went through an experimental phase, tried marijuana and then moved on with their lives. But for those convicted of marijuana crimes, many can't grow out of it. They have an arrest record that will follow them for the rest of their lives, affecting their ability to get jobs, pay for school and buy homes.
What about those people? Some of us may overlook them, because those who get caught up in the criminal justice system tend to be in groups that get overlooked — people of color, the poor. But we've seen it happen more times than we care to recall. Half of Americans between the ages of 18 and 50 have used marijuana and could have been among them. This November, think about them when you go into the voting booth. Think about your local fire department or the neighborhood park. There are lots of reasons to vote for Amendment 64. Take it from three law enforcers who have seen the harms and ineffectiveness of our current marijuana prohibition laws up close. It's time for change.
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