The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol turned in some 14,000 petition signatures to the Colorado Secretary of State on Friday.

That may give the activists more than they need to get a legalization question on Colorado ballots this fall.

Two weeks ago, the pot activists were told they were short about 2,500 valid signatures to put legalization on ballots.

The pot activists will find out by the end of the month whether their second effort is enough. Marijuana legalization is already headed to ballots this fall in Washington state.

Colorado voters considered but rejected a pot legalization measure in 2006.

Former New Mexico governor, and current Libertarian candidate for president, Gary Johnson was on hand at Friday's news conference to throw his support behind the measure.

"Coloradans have the chance to end marijuana prohibition for the entire country," he said. "There has to be a first, and Colorado has that opportunity."

"The more people talk about this, the more people understand this, the better the chance is for [marijuana prohibition] to end," he added.

Arthur Schut is the deputy director of Arapahoe House, a substance-abuse treatment program that operates in Colorado. While he says his office will not take a position on the initiative, he worries what the continued proliferation of marijuana will do to teenagers in particular.

"The more available, the more access there is, the more consumption there is, and the more consumption there is the more problems there are," he said.

There are currently more than 700 medical marijuana dispensaries operating in Colorado. Recent national surveys, says Schut, indicate kids aren't finding it difficult to get their hands on pot.

"Over half say it's relatively easy to get access to marijuana," he said.

 

(KUSA-TV © 2012 Multimedia Holdings Corporation with The Associated Press)