August 27, 2013 07:18 PM UTC

Mitch Morrissey's Marijuana Mayhem

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• by: ColoRabble

Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey just cannot accept the fact that most Colorado voters – and a vast majority of Denver voters – disagree with him when it comes to marijuana policy. The latest sign he is still clinging to the past is the ridiculous video posted this week on his YouTube page to defend his dubious and widely criticized attempt to link Colorado's medical marijuana law to murder and violent crime. See this scathing column from Vincent Carroll of the Denver newspaper for background.

The video, "Deadly Impact of Medical Marijuana in Colorado," is basically "Reefer Madness" meets the infamous 1988 Willie Horton ad, complete with scary background music and pictures of victims. It highlights 12 homicides involving medical marijuana caregivers and suggests the nearly 13-year-old program, as opposed to the violent criminals who carried out the crimes. It's on par with calling into question laws that allow the sale of alcohol because 12 liquor stores were robbed. The real question to ask here is why Mitch Morrissey's office is using these murders (some of which are unsolved) to raise doubts about the law, as opposed to raising doubts about his and other law enforcement officials' ability to uphold the law.  Moreover, you'd think the district attorney's office of a major American city would have more pressing business to attend to than creating anti-medical marijuana propaganda videos.

The vast majority of Colorado voters approved the state's medical marijuana law, and what's more, a strong majority decided to expand upon it and allow marijuana sales for all adults 21 and older. It's time for Mitch Morrissey to start respecting the marijuana laws approved by the voters who elected him to uphold them.