Colorado Springs: City Council Seeks to Overturn Election Outcome with New Marijuana Repeal Question

Members of the Colorado Springs city council decided 7 to 2 last night to place a ballot question before voters to overturn the outcomes of a pair of November marijuana initiatives.

On election day, 54 percent of voters approved Ballot Measure 300, which allows for adult-use retail marijuana sales to take place within the city’s limits. Voters also rejected a separate ballot measure (Question 2D) which sought to explicitly ban such activities. Colorado Springs (population: 489,000) is the largest city in state to prohibit the retail sale of adult-use cannabis products.

Despite those results, some council members allege that voters were “confused” by the ballot measures’ language and that they ought to be able to weigh in once again on the issue. A vote on the latest initiative, which asks voters to repeal Measure 300, will take place on April 1^st — when turnout is anticipated to be far lower than it was in November.

Critics of the move say that the will of the electorate ought to be respected and not second-guessed. “I think council members really do believe that this is not good for the city for a variety of reasons, but that’s not the point,” said council member Yolanda Avila, who voted against placing the new measure on the April ballot. “The point is that our citizens voted for the ballot issue 300, hands down voted for it.”

Tom Scudder, President of the Colorado Springs Cannabis Association, added: “Question 300 is no longer about regulating marijuana. It’s now about what you stand for — respecting the will of the voters or governing by fiat. [The majority on the City Council] want a do-over, you want a mulligan, and that doesn’t exist in politics, when it comes to the will of the voters.”

NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano agreed with critics’ sentiment and acknowledged that lawmakers’ unwillingness to accept marijuana legalization election outcomes is becoming a disturbing trend. Specifically, he highlighted ongoing legal efforts in Nebraska to nullify two recently approved medical cannabis access initiatives as well as a recent decision by the city council in Lockhart, Texas to set aside a voter-approved municipal measure depenalizing low-level marijuana possession. In 2021, lawmakers successfully petitioned courts in Mississippi and South Dakota to nullify statewide marijuana legalization election results

“In a healthy democracy, those with competing visions on public policy vie for voters’ support and abide by their voting decisions. However, it is becoming clear that those who oppose marijuana policy reform would rather take voters out of the equation altogether,” Armentano said. “Whether or not one personally supports or opposes cannabis legalization, these cynical and undemocratic tactics ought to be a cause of deep concern.”