Relaxed pot law passes in Denver

DENVER — Capping a sometimes bitter campaign rife with allegations of misleading voters and exploiting their fears of violent crime, residents Tuesday legalized possession of small amounts of marijuana.

With 97 percent of precincts reporting, 53 percent, of 55,035 voters, cast ballots for the measure, while 47 percent, or 47,929 voters, voted against it.

Also Tuesday, voters in the ski resort town of Telluride rejected a proposal to make possession of an ounce or less of marijuana by people 18 or older the town’s lowest law enforcement priority. The measure, rejected on a vote of 308-332, was placed on the ballot in August by the Town Council.

Some supporters hoped the Denver proposal would launch a national trend toward legalizing a drug whose enforcement they believe causes more problems than it cures.

“What this does say is reconsidering marijuana prohibition is absolutely a mainstream issue now,” said Bruce Mirken of the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project.