Despite opposing the legalization of marijuana before Colorado voters overwhelmingly approved it in 2012, the mayor of Denver now says he is “proud” of the legal cannabis industry in his city.

“I am very proud of the industry that came to the table and went to work,” Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said in an interview with Inc. Magazine. “The industry has investors and businessmen and women who are very legit. They’re putting their hard-earned money, many retirements and investments on the line for this industry.”

Two weeks before Election Day in 2012, Hancock called marijuana a “gateway drug” and said that if legalization were enacted, the city would “lose our attractiveness to companies, employers who want to come to our state. Tourism is the number-one industry for the City of Denver, number two in the state of Colorado, and I believe that sector will be disproportionately harmed with the perception that Denver is the marijuana capital.”

Denver voters didn’t listen. They approved legalization 66 percent to 34 percent, a much bigger margin than the overall 55 percent to 45 percent tally the measure earned statewide.

After the passage of Amendment 64, Hancock pressed the City Council to slow its implementation, calling for a minimum two-year moratorium on opening new legal marijuana businesses in Denver.

“As a parent, I worry about how the increased presence of marijuana in our city will affect our children and our grandchildren,” he wrote. “Despite a few lessons learned from medical marijuana, the long-term implications of that industry and the potential for an expanded industry will not be known to us for perhaps a generation or more.”

Despite Hancock’s newfound warm view of Denver’s local legal marijuana entrepreneurs, he is still withholding his personal support for the policy of legalization itself.

“It’s still …read more

Source:: Weed Feed