I pretty much stand by what I originally evaluated for my votes on ballot propositions this year. There are two that I was not sure about, though, and one other I wanted to reevaluate.
Proposition 122 – Access to Natural Psychedelic Substances
YES
One proponent framed the question very well: is adult possession of magic mushrooms sufficiently dire enough to warrant destroying someone’s life through criminal prosecution? Hard to understand how.
On the other hand, the critiques of the proposition are inane. “It’s fentanyl all over again!” No, it’s not, in any way, shape, or form. “Ordinary people shouldn’t do these drugs because they won’t treat them as a spiritual sacrament!” Sorry, I eat bread and drink wine, too, outside of Mass. “It’s all a Big Pharma plot!” While not discounting Big Pharma’s ability to plot, this controlled access proposal seems a reasonable first step.
I’ll be voting Yes.
Some further reading:
- Colorado Proposition 122, Decriminalization and Regulated Access Program for Certain Psychedelic Plants and Fungi Initiative (2022) – Ballotpedia
- Proposition 122: Magic mushrooms are on the Colorado ballot
Proposition 124 – Increase Allowable Liquor Store Locations
NO
Basically increases the number of liquor licenses which may be held by an individual or company. I wanted to give this one another look because there are some inequities in the current law that, in the coming several years, will disadvantage independent liquor stores.
Net-net, Prop 124 is a good thing if it helps local liquor stores expand and stay competitive with supermarkets, which will soon begin to get more licenses than they do. It’s a not so good thing if it helps big outside liquor companies (e.g., BevMo, or Total Wine) come into the state and supplant local liquor marts.
Give that the Trone brothers, who founded Total Wine, have each dropped almost a million dollars into this tells me that’s the intended direction.
I think there are better ways to help local liquor stores compete, so I’m going to vote No, but I strongly suspect that it will be voted in as a Yes.
Some further reading:
- Colorado Proposition 124, Retail Liquor Store Licenses Initiative (2022) – Ballotpedia
- Proposition 124 in Colorado: What to know about increasing allowable liquor store locations | Colorado Public Radio
- Opinion: Set same rules for big-box and local liquor stores, again
Proposition 125 – Allow Grocery and Convenience Stores to Sell Wine
NO
Should grocery stores be able to sell wine, too? (Also sake, mead, and hard cider, but wine is the biggie here.)
The issue being presented to consumers is, of course, convenience — though the donations from Albertsons Safeway, Kroger, and Target make it clear they see it as a big windfall for themselves.
The argument against is the impact on independently owned liquor stores. The best counter is that the same claim was made about grocery stores carrying beer, and today there are more independent liquor stores than there were when that proposition passed. I’m not convinced that actually applies, though, esp. given how independent stores have said their beer sales have dropped; kicking out the second of three legs from those stores (beer, wine, hard liquor) would have, I think, a more serious effect.
I will likely vote No, though I suspect it will pass.
Some further reading:
- Colorado Proposition 125, Wine Sales in Grocery and Convenience Stores Initiative (2022) – Ballotpedia
- Proposition 125 in Colorado: What to know about allowing grocery and convenience stores to sell wine | Colorado Public Radio
- Proposition 125: Coloradans will decide whether grocery stores should be allowed to sell wine starting next year
Oh, and that other stuff to vote for?
I’ll be voting a pretty straight Democratic ballot this year, as far as candidates go. While I’m not a rapturous fan of Polis or Bennet, for example (though I do like my US Rep, Jason Crow), their opponents are either lunatics or clearly disingenuous in their intentions — and my presumption in 2022, without strong proof otherwise (which would have kept them from getting on the GOP ballot in the first place) is that any Republican candidate is or will be a Trump supporter, happy to work alongside MTG and Jordan and Goetz and Cotton and Cruz, and enthusiastic to see civil rights protections rolled back, increased church-state entanglement, and democratic norms and governance broken down.
Vote!