bostonglobe | Yet Mason Tvert, a key Colorado and national legalization advocate,
said the idea of eliminating a legal, regulated market as a way to
undermine the black market is logically unsound.
. . .
With
rain on the horizon, dozens of shoppers headed for the Safeway in
Pueblo West one evening last week. Residents were split on whether to
embrace the marijuana repeal — and it’s not clear how the vote will
shake out.
Shannon McPherson, a social worker, said marijuana legalization has “been bad for the whole Pueblo community.”
The
47-year-old, who works at a hospital, said “we see a lot more homeless
people — we see a lot of people that have come without resources, that
end up tapping our resources.”
Jason White, 44, owns a property
management company and expressed frustration he has had to deal with
marijuana-smoking squatters in some of his properties.
“We’ve got
more crime. We’ve got more people on the street. Our hospitals are
filled with people,” he said. And what of the economic benefits? It’s a
net negative, he insisted. The extra revenue that comes in, “all it’s
doing is going to the overwhelmed homeless shelters, hospitals, and the
police.”
Davis Dossantos, 43, said he’s seen an uptick in vagrancy and panhandling since legalizatio
But,
walking out of the grocery store, Dossantos said he would vote against
the ballot initiative because, he indicated, people will still use
marijuana but will probably not drive somewhere else to buy it legally.
“You’re
not really tackling the issue,” he said, shaking his head. “You’re
forcing the individuals to go back to the drug dealers, and the black
market will flourish even more.”
