UPDATE: The Colorado Springs City Council voted 7-2 to put forth a ballot question about the sale of recreational marijuana in the upcoming municipal election.
The ballot question will ask voters if they want to repeal Ballot Question 300 from the November 2024 election. 300 passed allowing medicinal marijuana shops to apply to sell recreational marijuana.
The vote came after hours of public testimony in favor of recreational marijuana shops within city limits.
Councilmembers Nancy Henjum and Yolanda Avila were the two no votes. For more information read the previous article below.
Take a look back with us into past recreational cannabis propositions and their results
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City council members in Colorado Springs are scheduled to vote on a potential ballot issue for the upcoming municipal election tied to recreational marijuana.
In November, voters in Colorado Springs passed Ballot Question 300 and shot down 2D. 300 passing allows existing medical marijuana licensees to apply to become licensed as retail/recreational marijuana businesses. 2D would have prohibited retail marijuana establishments within City limits, but that failed in November's election.
On Tuesday, the city council is expected to vote on the language of the ballot item that would repeal 300 and then decide if it should go to the ballot for the April 1 election. News5's Brett Forrest spoke one one-on-one with Dave Donelson, one of the council members supporting the proposed ballot initiative. Donelson believes voters may have been confused when trying to vote on both 2D and 300 in the same election.
"We are not trying to block the will of the people. In fact, I'm trying to find out what is truly the will of the people, because I can tell you, in my district, District One, both measures passed," Donelson said of the conflicting ballot measures. "There was a lot of language in there about penalties for recreational marijuana. It never said recreational marijuana sales by itself. It was always in the terms of allowing a medical marijuana shop to apply for a license, so that language can confuse people."
The President of the Colorado Springs Cannabis Association, Tom Scudder, believes voters knew exactly what they wanted in the November election.
"We ought to remember that that initiative 300 won by 22,000 votes," Scudder explained. "So if there are a couple people that were confused, you'd have to make an argument that well over 22,000 were confused to have changed the result, and most of the confusion was because the City Council put on a second initiative. I mean, they effectively both did the same thing. So it was completely unnecessary. It was a waste of money. They say it cost $400,000 to refer an initiative. So that was $400,000 that they didn't need to spend."
Donelson admits that when the city council added 2D to the November ballot, they added to the confusion.
"I think it did add to the confusion," Donelson told Forrest. "And no, I don't think it was intentional. I think the desire, and if you go back and watch the footage of the debate before that, I believe I said, I don't really think this is a good idea to do this, because it will confuse people. We need one question up or down."
Scudder pointed out more people take part in a presidential election than a municipal election.
"We ought to be honest and call out what it is, they simply don't like the policy decision that the people made, and so they want to try it over and see if they can get a different result in a different electorate," Scudder stated. "Because municipal elections get dramatically fewer votes... and they're hoping that that gives them a different result."
Donelson believes a simpler ballot question could result in a different outcome when it comes to allowing recreational marijuana shops in Colorado Springs.
"Do you want to repeal ballot measure 300 which legalizes marijuana sales in the city of Colorado Springs? If that passes, I need to be quiet, and that's the will of the people, and I'm done. I won't argue about it anymore," Donelson said if voters stick with allowing recreational marijuana shops.
Scudder pointing to different ways recreational marijuana shops help Colorado Springs.
"It provides a lot of tax revenue," Scudder said. "One of the benefits of recreational is that we ID people, and that age gating that occurs both at the front door as well as inside of our stores, preventing younger kids from using it...Probably the final thing that I would identify is we put in a tax of 5 percent local sales tax that will help PTSD for veterans, public health and mental health, mental health issues. Colorado Springs needs that money, and no reason to walk away from that money and give that money to Manitou Springs or Palmer Lake or Pueblo or Denver."
Click here for additional information on the April 1 Municipal election.
"Honestly, if it turns out that this repeal passes, especially if it's by a significant number, I would say that suggests I'm right," Donelson said. "It's not going to be the same numbers of voters. I'll give you that, but I don't, I don't have a way to make that happen. And if I wait for two years from now, for the next election, again, it'll be too late."
"If you feel strongly about this, if you feel like City Council is disrespecting your vote in November, if you think this is a lack of respect for democracy, then you need to come out and vote and make that very clear to city council," Scudder said when asked what his message to voters is.
Voters rejected recreational marijuana shops in a 2022 election with about 54% of the vote before approving it in the November election by passing 300 with about 55% of the vote. 2D, which would have banned the sale of recreational marijuana failed with about 49% voting for it and about 51% voting against it.
Under 300, starting Feb. 10 an existing medical marijuana business in good standing can apply for a city retail marijuana business license of the same type at the existing MMJ licensed location. Earlier this month, the city council changed the details of the marijuana from a 1-mile to a 1,000-foot buffer zone for schools, daycares, and treatment facilities.
The city council is scheduled to meet Tuesday morning at 9, click here for the full agenda. They are expected to vote on the language of the ballot question before deciding if it is should go on the ballot.
Recreational cannabis has appeared on voter ballots in Colorado Springs several times over the last decade.
WATCH: A look at past recreational cannabis propositions in Colorado Springs and their results
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