Next up on the ballot: legalization of marijuana

Marijuana advocates are slowly but steadily moving toward the November 2012 ballot. And they want nothing less than full legalization.

Two weeks ago, the state set a title for eight different possible ballot measures that would allow Colorado citizens over 21 to possess an ounce or less of marijuana. The authors of the ballot measure—Mason Tvert, of SAFER, and attorney Brian Vicente — said they’ll soon select one of the eight measures to pursue. The eight have small technical differences, but otherwise are identical, said Tvert.

They filed eight originally to give themselves more time to choose which one they want to work on, and to make sure that at least one of the eight made it onto the ballot.

Now, they’ll have to get a petition approved by the Secretary of State’s Office, and then collect at least 86,105 signatures of Colorado voters. Typically, ballot measure activists turn in far more than that, in case they wind up with duplicate signatures, or ones of Coloradans who aren’t registered to vote.

The ballot measure would also allow Coloradans to grow up to six marijuana plants of their own, though only three would be allowed to be budding at a given time. Anyone wishing to sell marijuana would have to obtain a business license from the state. It would also require the state Department of Revenue to adopt new rules regulating the industry by July 1, 2013.

Tvert said the ballot measure would not change any of the current medical marijuana regulations, but set up a “parallel system.”

A ballot measure in 2006 by Tvert and other marijuana advocates was defeated.

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