Mary Lou Makepeace announces that she's running for mayor of Colorado Springs. (Christian Murdock, The Gazette)

Mayor candidate in dry, conservative Colorado city wants retail pot sales

Colorado Springs mayoral candidate Mary Lou Makepeace said Monday she supports the sale of recreational marijuana in the southern Colorado city, which currently allows only medical cannabis sales, and she suggests that proceeds could be used to address the city’s persistent and widespread pothole problem.

“I say it’s time for Pot for Potholes,” she said in a news release Monday.

In an interview later in the day, Makepeace also said believes legal sales will help marginalize the black market, and she wants to regulate marijuana sales in the same way as cigarettes and alcohol.

“By refusing to regulate, we are allowing the underground trade to flourish,” said Makepeace, who faces former Colorado Attorney General John Suthers in a May 19 runoff election.

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