Let's make clear we are NOt for re-criminalizing marijuana
AND these policy choices are going to have some complicated consequences
if we want legal recreational marijuana, we need to be prepared with housing & services as necessary for people coming here because a lot of this is pretty foreseeable & It probably is going to require state coordination--
AND we're NOT currently providing what is legally required in housing & Services for people w/ mental disabilities who are already here.
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Pueblo is already complaining about the "Entitled" & dare say we say "Undeserving Poor" the Colorado Marijuana Business is bringing in, & they are likely NOT the only ones.
Nobody is suggesting people put up with violence -- and some of the people who are coming are going to have:
While we are very sympathetic to governmental entities and others facing major increased costs due to increased homeless populations -- some people with very problematic behaviors, we are NOT very sympathetic to simplistic conclusions regarding "entitlement" and "shiftless outsiders." We are pretty sure in most cases that does not get to the "root cause" of what may be in some cases truly dangerous behavior. AND coming to terms with the reality of this -- is what we really have to do. We need a study if one hasn't already been commissioned to set out the costs of legalized marijuana, including those who are coming here for jobs and won't be able to get them. We also need proposed solutions for handling these costs. Even though California and a lot of the states on the West Coast are legalizing marijuana, the states right around Colorado probably aren't going to be doing it anytime soon -- so at least for the next few years we are likely to have a pretty steady stream of people coming here for the marijuana in some cases, and in some cases with no place to live. Disposition of Marijuana Tax Revenue https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/revenue/disposition-marijuana-tax-revenue |
Pueblo chieftain editorial
Matola, Stattelman and many other well-meaning folks want to help Pueblo's needy homeless population. They simply don't have the financial resources -- and the Pueblo County jail doesn't have the space -- for shiftless outsiders who come here expecting an easy ride. |