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Pot-Case Dismissal Cheered
Activists declare it a victory for Denver's new marijuana-possession law, passed in November
Amy Herdy | Denver Post | 01/19/2006

Pro-marijuana activists are declaring victory for the new city ordinance allowing adults to possess less than an ounce of marijuana after charges were dropped Wednesday against a man for having marijuana and marijuana paraphernalia in his car.

Eric Footer, 39, a real estate consultant who was charged by Denver police on Nov. 17, the day after the ordinance took effect, said he hopes the decision sends a message to others to fight prosecutions for marijuana possession.

"I see it as a personal victory," said Footer, who says he uses marijuana to dull back pain. "But more than that, I see it as a victory for all the voters who voted on this initiative."

In November, Denver voters approved making private possession by an adult of less than an ounce of marijuana legal under city ordinances.

It is still illegal under state and federal law, meaning that it is still a crime to possess it in Denver.

Assistant City Attorney Greg Rawlings said he declined to prosecute Footer not because of the controversy that pitted a city ordinance against a state law but because the marijuana seized from Footer's car by police was not taken properly.

"I couldn't find a real reason for there to be a search," said Rawlings, who noted he had other possession-of-marijuana cases he was continuing to prosecute. "Office policy is to follow the state statute."

Footer's attorney, Brian Vicente, said marijuana arrests are a waste of taxpayer dollars and divert police from more serious crimes, such as those dealing with violence or property theft.

"I think this will send a strong message to Denver police that adults using marijuana responsibly will not be prosecuted," said Vicente, executive director of Sensible Colorado, an organization that backed the marijuana initiative.

Denver police spokesman Sonny Jackson said that while officers would review what happened in Footer's case, they would not be deterred from making marijuana arrests for possession under an ounce.

"We've always enforced on the state statute," Jackson said, "and will continue to do so."

Mason Tvert, campaign director for Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER), a nonprofit pro-marijuana group that spearheaded the Denver initiative, said he believed the city dropped the case because of its media attention, not because of a bad search.

"He did give consent, so I don't know how it was a bad search," Tvert said of Footer's case. "I think they're just caving under the pressure of the people of the city."

Tvert, who says marijuana is a safer choice than alcohol, said his organization as well as Vicente's will continue to push for the legalization of mari juana use by adults on a state level.

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killer12382

The worst thing they can do to the DA's office is to rub their nose in it as this could have a backlash. They don't like to think they've been beaten so its best to take their explanation of why they decided not to go forward with the case as the "truth".

Cassius

Why not have a backlash? Why not let the DA throw it in the face of the citizens of Denver that their nifty little proposition doesn't mean squat? Then the DA might have to deal with a PUBLIC backlash. Then the public might decide they have to change the state law as well.

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killer12382

The DA could have just as easily charged this guy under state statutes....when someone nice to you, don't be mean to him....just good business.

WNB

Of course the police want to keep busting stoners. Fewer arrests means less funding, and what better way to make arrests than to criminalize a siginificant percent of otherwise law-abiding citizens, most of whom cannot handle police nearly as efficiently as real criminals.

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dedbr

your right about this one....

...but I bet ya learn real fast if they keep doing it to ya, huh?

(Dirt fly's in the air...)

How about, Make War No More....

Ded

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Zeddicus

This article gives me hope that perhaps some government, at least at the state level, are starting to see reason. Wait, I take that back...They don't give a damn about reason...But maybe they are starting to listen to the voters. And they'd better if they want to keep their job