How Colorado and Weed Impact the Democratic Party Platform

At this week’s Democratic National Convention, contributions from Colorado officials are expected to make an impact in two key areas: marijuana use and how the party selects its presidential nominee.

The pot provision was delegated by Dennis Obduskey of Park County, calling on Democrats nationally to support a policy that would remove marijuana as a Schedule 1 controlled substance, setting it on a pathway to further legalization. Obduskey said the measure won by the thinnest of margins, 81 to 80, at an earlier meeting in Orlando and it is already a part of the platform. The other contribution from Colorado grew from a longstanding fight between supporters of Hillary Clinton and primary rival Bernie Sanders. The issue was a big one for Colorado, as Democrats in the state selected 41 Sanders delegates to 25 for Clinton. But Colorado’s 12 super-delegates, including Gov. John Hickenlooper and U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, overwhelmingly backed Clinton, along with other super-delegates nationally.

Sanders supporters want that arrangement changed — a movement that gained steam this week following the resignation of U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz as DNC chair in response to the publication of leaked emails that showed her staff working to undercut Sanders during the presidential primary. The super-delegate fight has the potential to be addressed on the convention floor, though Colorado officials have worked to ease these tensions. Colorado delegates said former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb, along with Skip Madsen, a member of Denver’s rules committee, played a role in planning to create a commission to study the super-delegate issue.

Copies of the proposal were given out Monday morning at a breakfast for Colorado delegates at a hotel near the convention center and reaction to the idea was cautiously optimistic among Sanders’ delegates. It’s expected to come up Monday as part of a vote on a broader rules package for the convention. Rep. Joe Salazar, a Sanders delegate, of the super-delegate process, described the reform proposal as a start but that it would require opponents to continue on in their efforts.