Pot activists are aiming for full legalization of marijuana in Colorado and the fight begins today in Denver.
Supporters of legal recreational-use pot in the state need approximately 86,000 signatures to get a measure on the ballot for next year, The Denver Post reports. If the amendment were to get approval by voters, pot would be legal in Colorado, in small quantities, for adults aged 21 and over starting as early as 2013.
Currently, sixteen states allow medical marijuana, according to 7News, but full legalization for recreational use would set up a federal showdown over the often contentious disparity between state and federal pot laws.
The efforts of these Colorado pot advocates is part of the Campaign To Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, a collective of marijuana activist groups and individuals including SAFER, Sensible Colorado, NORML and others.
The Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act of 2012 makes the personal use, possession and limited home-growing of marijuana legal for adults aged 21 and older. It establishes a system in which marijuana is regulated and taxed similarly to alcohol is currently. The act also would allow for the cultivation, procesing, and sale of industrial hemp.
Read the entire Regulate Marijuana Like Alchool Act of 2012 here.