A narrow win to keep pot out of Steamboat

A Colorado town known as a popular winter ski destination has voted down a marijuana dispensary, drawing praise from a pro-family group.

In a 4-3 vote Tuesday, the Steamboat City Council rejected an application by Rocky Mountain Remedies to open a store midway between downtown Steamboat Springs and the Steamboat Ski Resort on the outskirts of town.

Steamboat Springs, a city of approximately 13,000, is located in the Yampa Valley region.

While supporters of the dispensary say it's time to treat marijuana dispensaries the same as liquor stores, and others talked up the added revenues, there were concerns that the dispensary could mar the community's family-friendly atmosphere.

Debbie Chaves, executive director of Colorado Family Action, says legalized marijuana has not made Colorado better.

"It actually makes it worse," Chaves tells OneNewsNow. "Communities get very excited because they feel that there will be such a large revenue of tax, not understanding on the back end of that we have crime."

Chaves points to highly publicized remarks from Colorado District Attorney Dan May, who in 2017 referred to marijuana as a "gateway drug to homicide."

According to Chaves, homicides are actually being tied to marijuana, which is why the D.A. made that claim.

"Petty theft has grown and street crime has grown, and when I say street crime these can be violent crimes. They can be theft crimes where they're grabbing money and going, grabbing a purse and going, or actual assault crimes," she says. "So we've got to be aware that when you bring this into your community, you can't turn that back quickly."

In the city of Pueblo, she says, a hospital reported that more than half the babies born showed marijuana in their systems.

"This is a type of society you cannot maintain," she warns, "and we must do something about it."