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Battle for equality with beer drinkers motivates CO cannabis campaign PDF Print E-mail
Written by Steve Fox   
SAFER: On campuses, on cable TV, and all over

    The Colorado-based organization Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation, SAFER, that coordinated the successful legalization initiative campaign in Denver last fall, is now fully engaged in spreading its “marijuana is safer than alcohol” message across the nation. Over the past months, SAFER has helped coordinate activities on major college campuses and appeared on numerous national cable news programs. At the same time, SAFER continues to press the envelope and attract substantial attention in Colorado.

A student on each campus had died as the result of alcohol overdose; students then passed referenda urging universities to make penalties for cannabis no worse than for alcohol.
   
Director Mason Tverdt
Director Mason Tverdt
    One of SAFER’s primary goals is to work with students to change cannabis policies on university campuses. In fact, the organization was launched in the spring of 2005 on the campuses of Colorado State University (CSU) and the University of Colorado, Boulder (CU), where four months earlier a student on each campus had died as the result of alcohol overdoses. On each campus, students passed referenda urging the universities to make penalties for use of cannabis no worse than penalties for alcohol.

    In spring 2006, SAFER helped coordinate similar referenda at Florida State U, U of Texas at Austin, and U of Maryland. The referenda asked students whether the university should bring penalties for cannabis use and possession in line with those for alcohol violations. Students at all three universities overwhelmingly passed the referenda, by margins of 60-40, 64-36, and 65-35, respectively.

 
Getting signatures for the SAFER CO initiative.
Getting signatures for the SAFER CO initiative.
   On each campus, SAFER worked with chapters of National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and/or Students for Sensible Drug Policies (SSDP). With the help of these two organizations and their chapters, SAFER expects to see 20-30 referenda on university campuses in the spring of 2007.

    In other campus-related news, SAFER recently helped attract national attention to an outrageous action by the University of Colorado Police Department (CUPD). After the annual 4/20 event on campus, the CUPD posted photos of participants on the Internet and offered $50 rewards to anyone willing to identify an individual pictured. SAFER decried this “snitching program” to the media and brought two prominent civil rights attorneys to campus to inform students of their rights in this situation. As a result, SAFER was a prominent part of the coverage of this story, with campaign director Mason Tvert appearing live on MSNBC and Fox News.

    Some of the individuals pictured on the Web are considering suing the university for violating their constitutional right to assemble peacefully. A number of students have expressed an interest in doing so.

Colorado campaign update

The focal point of SAFER moving forward this year is its initiative campaign to make the possession of up to one ounce of cannabis legal under Colorado state law. This campaign is being coordinated by the SAFER Voter Education Fund, which is SAFER’s lobbying arm.

    The grassroots support for this initiative is impressive. Since February, more than 400 individuals in Colorado have volunteered to help collect the 68,000 signatures needed to qualify the initiative for the ballot. The deadline for turning in signatures is August 7 and SAFER is confident that a sufficient number of signatures will be collected by that time.

    Win or lose, the campaign in Colorado is certain to inspire a major debate about the wisdom of laws in this country that prohibit the use of cannabis and end up steering people toward a more harmful substance, alcohol. Already, SAFER has participated in an hour-long live debate with Colorado Attorney General John Suthers on the Colorado PBS station.

    For more information about the Colorado campaign or to make a contribution to help support the signature drive, please visit SAFERColorado.org online.
 
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