Marijuana.com

JnEverett

44: Legalization bid falls flat
11-08-06 l Denver Post l Felisa Cardona

Most Colorado voters just said "no" Tuesday to legalizing small amounts of marijuana for recreational use.

Under Amendment 44, adults ages 21 and older would have been allowed to possess and use up to an ounce of marijuana without facing a $100 fine.

Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation, or SAFER, launched the statewide campaign to legalize pot after a successful initiative in Denver last year.

Although the Denver measure made pot technically legal in the city, Denver police are using state law to continue to fine people $100 who are caught with marijuana.

The only Coloradans currently allowed to possess up to an ounce of marijuana are those who need it for medicinal purposes, which is legal under a state law that passed six years ago.

Mason Tvert, SAFER's campaign director, argued through the election season that marijuana is a safer alternative to alcohol.

On Tuesday, he said he knew that it would be a tough battle to change "75 years of marijuana prohibition overnight.

"It's quite clear that a number of people in Colorado are in agreement that marijuana prohibition is not working," Tvert said. "We think this is the first step in a 5- to 10-year process."

SAFER dropped $60,000 into the campaign, and Tvert said he sees the money as well-spent because Coloradans began to have a conversation about whether marijuana should be legalized.

"It's not an issue that is going away," he said. "There is a big effort to change these laws."

Amendment 44 opponents were pleased Tuesday that the initiative failed, saying legalization would increase teen drug use.

"I think the people of Colorado have spoken," said Beverly Kinard, founder of Guarding Our Children Against Marijuana. "They care about Colorado, they care about the families of Colorado and they are taking a stand against the drug movement."

Kinard said if another effort is made to legalize any drugs in Colorado, her group will continue to fight it.

 

Buzzby

I got an email this morning from the Steve Fox, the Executive Director of SAFER. He told me that it was amazing how far Amendment 44 got on a shoestring budget. They only had two paid workers and $60,000. They were up against the power of the state of Colorado, the power of the White House, and the forces of Christian Right morality brokers, all funded with millions of dollars.

They did a hell of a job and a 40% approval for the outright legalization of marijuana is nothing to sneeze at. I just returned from a month of campaigning in Colorado and I don't feel that I wasted a minute or a dime. The next time such a campaign swings into action I'll be on the front lines.

__________________