Earlier this week, Denver approved I-100, an initiative to legalize up to an ounce of pot for personal possession by people 21 and older.
 
The vote was mostly symbolic, because marijuana possession is still subject to fines under state law. The city will probably not see much of a practical impact, as police have traditionally used state law rather than city law to cite people for marijuana possession.
 
Nevertheless, activists hope that the vote will create momentum for reform in other places. SAFER, the organization that ran the campaign for I-100  , is looking ahead to a licensing and regulation initative at the state level. Even Denver's mayor, who opposed the initiative, thinks it is indicative of a larger trend. He told the Los Angeles Times, "People's attitudes about marijuana are changing."
 
Mason Tvert, the executive director of SAFER, will be speaking in a session on city marijuana initiatives at the Alliance conference next week in Long Beach, California. The session is called "The ABCs of Initiative I-75 and and Measure Z: Cities Taking the Lead," and will take place from 4:00 - 5:30 PM on Friday, November 11. For more information on conference programming or registration, please see the conference section of our website.