"There are a lot of players in this thing, and politically, there continues to be disagreement about the wisdom of what the voters enacted with Amendment 64. So that creates the very uncertainty and unpredictability that Westword is attempting to protect itself from by this lawsuit."
In the past, Suskin points out that courts "have been very skeptical about states' attempts to regulate speech in cases that have to do with alcohol and tobacco -- and we believe those cases are applicable to this situation.... Even though the developments in Colorado and other places [in regard to marijuana] are fairly recent, we think the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution will control in the same way it did in these other instances."
Beyond that, Suskin feels that "Amendment 64 was a clear decision by the voters of Colorado that marijuana should be regulated like alcohol. That was the theme of the whole thing, and that's what people voted for. So Westword is urging the court to give life to the voters' position on these matters. And that should result in the court restricting the State of Colorado's ability to restrict commercial speech.
"The law should be as clear for us as it is for the industry out there -- marijuana retailers who want to communicate with people about their goods and services. We think the First Amendment protects us and the people who are in the marketplace. That's the important principal we want to have the court rule on."
Here's the complaint, followed by the motion for a preliminary injunction and supporting brief.
Marijuana Motion for Preliminary Inunction and Supporting Brief
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More from our Marijuana archive circa June 2013: "Marijuana magazines as porn rule declared unconstitutional by state attorney general."
