Posted 11:30 AM by SAFER Choice |

For Immediate Release -- Nov. 7, 2006



DENVER -- Colorado's Amendment 44, which proposed a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes to make the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana legal, garnered more than 40 percent of the vote in Tuesday's election.* While the initiative obviously fell short of passage, the campaign succeeded in raising the profile of the issue in the state and helped build the foundation for a significant grassroots movement in support of marijuana policy reform for the future. The campaign also succeeded in educating the public about the fact that marijuana is far less harmful than alcohol.
* Due to extensive voting problems in Denver, fewer than 50 percent of the county's votes have been counted

Despite spending less than $60,000 after the signature drive, the Alcohol-Marijuana Equalization Initiative Committee forced people to think about the irrationality of having laws that prohibit the use of marijuana while allowing adults to use alcohol. The "marijuana is safer than alcohol" message resonated in newspaper articles and opinion pieces, on televisions newscasts, and in numerous radio interviews. The campaign also used creative paid media, such as billboards and newspapers ads, to spread its message throughout the state and around the nation.

The results also demonstrate that the majority of voters in a number of counties around the state agree with Denver voters and do not think adults should be punished for using marijuana. Amendment 44 received majority support in Boulder, Clear Creek, Eagle, Gilpin, Gunnison, La Plata, Lake, Pitkin, Routt, Saguache, San Juan, San Miguel, and Summit counties.

"We are not disappointed at all with the results of today's election," said SAFER Campaign Director Mason Tvert. "This campaign, following on the heels of our successful legalization initiative in Denver last year, was just one step in a five- to ten-year battle to make marijuana legal in Colorado. Now we see that a number of counties around Colorado support changing the state law regarding adult marijuana possession so that they have the right to set their own local policies."

"One low-budget initiative campaign cannot overcome 70 years of government lies and propaganda," Tvert said. "If it were possible to make marijuana legal with a $60,000 campaign in a state with nearly three million voters, it would have been done long ago. But the writing is on the wall in Colorado and we will continue to educate the public while pressuring government officials and community leaders to explain why they think adults should be punished for using a substance less harmful than alcohol."

Posted 6:39 PM by SAFER Choice |

Suthers Wants You to Drink, We Want You to Laugh

The story of our newspaper ads featuring President Bush and Vice President Cheney that coincided with their visit to Colorado has really exploded on the Web. The image of the Cheney ad (which ran with the AP story) is the #1 "Most E-mailed Photo"on Yahoo, and the image of the Bush ad is #6.

We have come up with a variety of clever (although some might say tasteless) ways to spread our message during this campaign. You can visit the Humor section of our Web site to see an archive of the various concepts we have developed and other items that might make you chuckle.

Our most recent addition is this satirical portrait of Colorado's sobriety-preaching Attorney General John Suthers. He admits he uses alcohol himself (although he asserted on a Colorado Springs radio debate last week that he has "never been intoxicated") and he thinks adults should be able to use alcohol responsibly without fear of arrest. Yet he thinks adults who responsibly use marijuana -- an undoubtedly less harmful drug -- should be criminals. Thus, we think it's safe to say he WANTS YOU TO DRINK!

Thanks to artist Konnie Laumer at Command K Studio for producing this lovely rendition of our favorite hypocrite.

Posted 12:31 AM by SAFER Choice |

Tomorrow is ELECTION DAY!

This Tuesday, November 7, is the last opportunity you have to vote to make marijuana legal for adults in Colorado. Please be sure to visit a vote center or your polling place and vote YES on 44.

Click HERE to find your polling place

This could end up being a VERY close election, so we absolutely need you to do everything you can to help us get out the vote. Here are some ideas:

- Get a couple other people to go vote with you

- Forward this E-mail to everyone you know who lives in Colorado, including family, friends and coworkers

- Call anyone you know who might not be voting and remind/encourage them to vote

- Text everyone you know in Colorado with a reminder to "Vote YES on 44 TODAY"

- Talk about the election and Amendment 44 to as many people as possible

If you happen to have a long line at your polling place, PLEASE do everything in your power to tough it out and make sure you vote. Our opponents are likely to be the ones who will stick it out in line just to vote against the "demon weed." We have a historic opportunity here, so please be sure to vote and play a direct part in it.

As we keep saying, this could be a close one. Despite the polls showing us behind, they are not taking into account large segments of the population, including 18-29-year-olds and -- believe it or not -- military personnel.

On that note, we're going to leave you with this very encouraging Web site response we received a couple days ago...

Below is the result of your feedback form. It was submitted by
(E-mail address removed) on Friday, November 03, 2006 at 01:57:34

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

replyemail: (E-mail address removed)

Message: I just wanted to let you know that there is a silent large number of people supporting your efforts. I am a soldier on fort carson who suffers from post traumatic stress disorder after a horrific tour in ar ramadi, iraq. there are so many soldiers like me who feel marijuana should be legalized in colorado so we can use natural remedies rather than being doped on on medications. If there is anything I can do to help but in an anonymous way let me know. Im sure you understand being in the army we can not openly express our views on this subject. it would put us in serious trouble.

I just wanted to let you know you have silent support...and a lot of it.

feel free to pass on the email to whomever.

--anonymous soldier

Submit: Send Message

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted 12:23 AM by SAFER Choice |

Wave 'Em If You Got 'Em

If you have a "YES on 44" sign and any time to spare today or tomorrow, please help us out by doing some sign-waving. This entails simply standing in a high-traffic area holding a yard sign and waving at cars. Believe it or not, this is probably the most important way you can help out these final 40-or-so hours.

We recommend finding a busy intersection where you can get traffic going both directions. It is also a good idea to go out during the rush hours (7a-9a and 4p-6p) to maximize the traffic you hit.

We NEED as many people as possible waving signs during the rush hours on Monday, as well as ALL DAY on Tuesday.

IMPORTANT: This may sound obvious, but when you are sign waving, BE SURE TO WAVE! Simply holding a sign renders you know different than a bus bench or storefront sign. But if you are waving, you can engage the viewer. They will see you waving at them, then look to see why. They will see the YES on 44 sign, and actually have to think about it. Without waving, people might drive by without seeing you at all. You will get some folks who wave back and honk, and you will get some who flip you the bird and scream at you -- this is what makes it fun!

Posted 5:39 PM by SAFER Choice |

Independence Institute Scholar Weighs In On Amendment 44 Opposition

A great article by Mike Krause appeared in the latest Independence Institute newsletter and is available on their Web site. Krause is the director of the Justice Policy Initiative at the Golden-based Colorado think tank.

The piece highlights a few of our opponents' most egregious distortions, and it discusses how the current effort to sway kids from using marijuana is actually enticing them to try it. The article's theme -- which is clearly conveyed in the opening and closing paragraphs -- is quite clear:

The strategy of opponents to Amendment 44, which would re-legalize marijuana possession for adults in Colorado, goes something like this: In order to protect children from marijuana, we must also treat grown-ups like children.

Treating children like children is fine, but children are also adults-in-training who will someday expect their government to treat them as such. The opponents of Amendment 44 seem to have forgotten this.

You can read more of Krause's work here.

Posted 1:38 AM by SAFER Choice |

Amendment 44 the Talk of Air Force One

If your ears are burning, that's because the leader of the free world is talking about you.

We placed ads in the Colorado Springs Gazette and Greeley Tribune that appeared yesterday to coincide with President Bush and Vice President Cheney's trips to Colorado. You can see these ads on the "Humor" page on our campaign site. or you can hear about them in just about any newspaper and on virtually every TV station around the country...

The Associated Press (AP) turned out a great story that has already spread across the country, as well as to Europe and Australia.

White House spokesman Tony Snow, asked for comment aboard Air Force One as Bush headed to Texas after the rally, dismissed the ads as "kind of snarky and juvenile."

Hopefully, this story prompted a good debate amongst the President and his entourage about the relative harms of marijuana and alcohol.

Posted 1:29 AM by SAFER Choice |

'What About the Children?'

As the Durango Herald reported, Amendment 44 stole the show at Durango High School's mock election and received a wealth of support from students. Let's hope those seniors who are eligibile also turn out to vote in the real election.

Posted 12:54 AM by SAFER Choice |

Delta-Montrose Drug Task Force the Latest to Come Out of the Closet About Marijuana Addiction

This is another segment in a long line of posts about law enforcement officials who just can't live without arresting and prosecuting people for using marijuana.

Today's Montrose Daily Press has a pretty extensive article on Amendment 44 and the most recent marijuana addicts to emerge on the Amendment 44 opposition scene.

Tvert said the task force’s job was to enforce the laws, not make them. “I think the drug task force was put together to fight illegal drugs like meth, heroin and other very dangerous drugs, and not to maintain $100-fines on drugs that are arbitrarily considered illegal.”

And this was pretty classic:

“The whole issue is absurd. This is a measure by a small group of people that they’re trying to get passed to benefit themselves.”
--- Delta-Montrose Drug Task Force Agent Jack Haynes

Funny, Jack. We could say the EXACT same thing about you.

After all, the fact that you have no problem with people using alcohol but cannot see any way to let them use marijuana -- that's absurd. The fact that you are spending your time and our money drafting letters against and coordinating opposition to a citizen ballot initiative -- that's absurd.

And finally, the fact that you, a group of 16 drug task force members with jobs that depend on marijuana remaining illegal, is suggesting that the 130,815 people who signed the Amendment 44 petition is a small group of people trying to benefit themselves -- that's one of the most absurd things we've ever heard.

Posted 12:37 AM by SAFER Choice |

Rocky Columnist: Amendment 44 Getting Screwed

This column by scholar/attorney/author Dave Kopel appeared in yesterday's Rocky Mountain News. Along with pointing out the media's bias against marijuana and failure to accurately and adequately report on the issue, he does a great job highlighting the nearly comical absurdity of our opponents.

Kopel: News out of joint on marijuana

Slang misuse, failure to check assertions hurts its coverage
By Dave Kopel

David Montero of the Rocky Mountain News has been stuffing his coverage of Amendment 44 (relegalizing marijuana) with attempts to use drug slang. Sometimes Montero uses slang to promote negative stereotypes, such as "the wording of the ballot measure is so simple, even the most ardent stoner could understand it." Other times, Montero's articles sound like Jerry Falwell trying to talk jive.

Last Saturday, Montero wrote: "Pot smokers will tell you the most intense part of the joint is right at the end - the roach clip, in drug parlance. The news conference was getting to the roach clip."

Not really. As Wikipedia explains, "A roach clip is a clip, or holder, that is attached to a cigarette (usually a marijuana cigarette)." You can't smoke a "roach clip" - and you shouldn't use counterculture slang you only half-understand.

More mature coverage was provided by John Ensslin, in an Oct. 19 News article about the Channel 12 debate on the initiative. Ensslin evenly reported the charges and countercharges in which each side accused the other of lying. It would have been even better if the News article, or a follow-up, could have investigated the veracity of the claims made.

Linda Roady, an anti-44 spokesperson, claimed that "People who use marijuana are four times more prone to violence." When pro-44 leader Mason Tvert challenged her, she admitted that she could cite no source, but insisted she was right. A follow-up News article might have pointed to the findings of the U.S. Department of Justice National Drug Intelligence Center: "Marijuana users are not prone to violence." (www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs0/668/marijuan.htm)

Tracing Roady's "four times" factoid to its source would have revealed that she was garbling a 1998 study from the Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The study involved only persons aged 12-17 who used marijuana weekly; Amendment 44 would not change the law applicable to them.

Ensslin also reported that Tvert tied the anti-44 group Save Our Society from Drugs to "a Florida group which he alleged once withheld food from children." As Ensslin reported, a spokesman for the group called Tvert's allegation "borderline slanderous" and "unsubstantiated and untrue."

A follow-up article could have reported that Save Our Society was founded by Betty Sembler, who was also a co-founder of the Florida-based drug treatment organization Straight Inc. (Sembler is a primary funder of the national drug prohibition movement.)

Maia Szalavitz's book Help At Any Cost: How the Troubled- Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids describes the many cultlike practices of Straight Inc., including: "Many Straight participants reported that from the very start, they were underfed." Food deprivation was used as tool to make teenagers weak and vulnerable. As the Fox News Web site reports (www.webdiva.org/fox), there is extensive evidence of many forms of extreme child abuse at Straight.

But at least the News reported the debate, which The Denver Post did not. Over the last few months, the News has covered Amendment 44 much more thoroughly than has the Post.

Posted 12:34 AM by SAFER Choice |

SAFER vs. DEA Debate Available On-Line

The Oct. 30 debate on KOA 850 AM's Mike Rosen Show between SAFER Campaign Director Mason Tvert and DEA spokesman Jeffrey Sweetin is available on-line here.

Posted 4:41 PM by SAFER Choice |

The Kettle Calling the Pot Black

Today's Rocky Mountain News contains an editorial that clarifies that 1) Gov. Owens was wrong for calling supporters of Amendment 44 Nazis, and 2) the appropriate term would have been "fascists."

Uh...perhaps the Rocky editors need a vocabulary lesson. "Fascism," by definition, is an authoritarian form of government that suppresses individual rights. Ironically, the editor uses this label on protesters who were demonstrating against an authoritarian group of government officials using taxpayer money to convince the public to suppress individual rights.

We know that many of you saw this editorial and have already contacted the Rocky. But we need TONS of people to contact the Rocky and let them know -- POLITELY -- that this editorial was completely uncalled for, especially so close to the election.

John Temple
Editor, President & Publisher
303-954-5102
editor@rockymountainnews.com

Vincent Carroll
Editorial Page Editor (and author of the editorial)
303-954-5477
carrollv@rockymountainnews.com

Posted 4:17 PM by SAFER Choice |

HUGE Endorsement From Colorado Springs Gazette

The Colorado Springs Gazette, the primary newspaper serving the conservative El Paso County region, published an editorial today encouraging readers to vote YES on Amendment 44.

This is big news... After all, it's not every day that a newspaper that did not endorse your campaign reports on another newspaper that did. Check out the Rocky Mountain News's initial story on the endorsement here.

Not only does this lend Amendment 44 some serious street-cred, it also serves as an IN-YOUR-FACE to all the other newspapers who clearly put politics (and perhaps their bottom lines) above their principles. After all, there is simply no good reason why the "liberal" Denver Post or Colorado Daily (Boulder) should be opposed to this while the "conservative" Colorado Springs Gazette is for it.

Posted 1:24 AM by SAFER Choice |

Colorado Freedom Report Documents Showdown at State Capitol

You have to hand it to Ari Armstrong over at the Colorado Freedom Report. He produced this extensive report on the events surrounding the Oct. 27 demonstration by Amendment 44 supporters at Gov. Owens and Co.'s press soiree last week. We highly encourage you to check it out, as it is an honest and objective account of the entire incident, along with details, analysis, interviews and FACTS that were not mentioned or glossed over in the mainstream media.

Posted 1:04 AM by SAFER Choice |

Media Matters Calls Out Bill Owens and His AM Radio Attack Dog

Colorado's affiliate of the media watchdog group Media Matters called out Gov. Owens and KOA 850 AM's "Gunny" Bob Newman for colluding on a truly ridiculous message.

Newman's on-air statement:

Oh, it was ugly on the west steps of the Capitol today. The fascist druggies stripping the governor and some of our finest law enforcement officials of their First Amendment rights, with brownshirt tactics that reminded me of the old newsreels of the Ku Klux Klan back in the '30s and '40s, that reminded me of Nazi Germany and Hitler's rise to power in the '30s.

As you might already know, Gov. Owens referred to supporters of Amendment 44 as Nazis last week, noting they should replace their green campaign shirts with "brown shirts."

Well, wouldn't you know it, the conservative radio talk show who was given a day in Colorado ("Gunny Bob" Day) from the governor decided to use conspicuously similar rhetoric in attacking Amendment 44 supporters. Coincidence? We think not. Neither did Media Matters.

Posted 12:47 AM by SAFER Choice |

Conservatives in DC Forced to Read About That Chubby Pothead in Colorado (Again)

Washington, D.C.'s conservative-leaning newspaper, The Washington Times, has chronicled SAFER's efforts from the campuses of CU and CSU to the City of Denver to the State of Colorado.

The Times's most recent installment of its foray into the world of SAFER came this week with a piece focusing on Amendment 44 and SAFER's "pudgy" campaign director Mason Tvert.

In case you forgot what Mason look like (and talks about), we have provided this graphic representation courtesy of the CSU Collegian.

Posted 12:40 AM by SAFER Choice |

Telluride Watch Says YES on 44

The Telluride Watch endorsed a YES vote on Amendment 44 in an editorial this week. They approach the subject from a small-town, common-sense mentality:

Currently, possession of small amounts of marijuana is only a petty offense, subject to a fine of $100. Why bother?

With their already stretched law enforcement and criminal justice resources, Colorado's bigger cities (cough, cough....Denver) could certainly learn a thing or two from them.

Posted 12:20 AM by SAFER Choice |

Independent Gubernatorial Candidate Supports Amendment 44

Independent candidate for governor Paul Fiorino made it very clear in a recent Aspen Times article that he supports Amendment 44.

"If I'm in office, we will break the seal of nonpartisan politics," he said.


Amendment 44, which would legalize marijuana in Colorado, is just the sort of issue to allow that, he said.

Fiorino sees the marijuana topic as an opportunity to "start a discussion that other states will pick up on," giving Colorado a chance to set an example for other states by tackling controversial issues in a nonpartisan way.

Fiorino is not the first gubernatorial candidate to voice his support for Amendment 44. As you might recall, Libertarian Party candidate Dawn Winkler also stood up for the measure back in September.

Unfortunately, this is not the case with the Democratic nominee, Bill Ritter the Bong Hitter (he has admitted to "experimenting with marijuana" in high school AND college), or the Republican candidate, Both-Ways Bob Beauprez (he voted for the states' rights to medical marijuana bill in Congress, but somehow doesn't think states' rights should apply when it comes to recreational marijuana).

Posted 12:07 AM by SAFER Choice |

Aurora Sentinel All For 44

The editors of the Aurora Daily Sun & Sentinel endorsed a YES vote on Amendment 44 last week.

And if that wasn't enough, the Sentinel also included a YES endorsement from guest columnist (and former Denver Post editor) Chuck Green.

Let's hope the large number of voters in Aurora are as reasonable and common-sense-oriented as their news sources.

Posted 11:59 PM by SAFER Choice |

Daily Camera Column Highlights Amendment 44 Opponents' Foibles

Boulder Daily Camera columnist Clay Evans takes a hard look at the arguments against Amendment 44. His conclusion? That simply reading the arguments against Amendment 44 will give you reason enough to vote FOR it.

Posted 11:43 PM by SAFER Choice |

Marijuana Ain't a Thang to NBA Commissioner Stern

As many folks know, there is also an initiative on the ballot this year in Nevada that would make marijuana legal for adults and put forth a recommended system of regulation.

This year's NBA All-Star Game is scheduled to take place in Las Vegas, and believe it or not, there were members of the media actually questioning NBA officials on whether the All-Star Game would be relocated if the measure passed and marijuana became legal. The story was covered by Sports Illustrated last week.

Fortunately NBA Commissioner David Stern did not cave in to such suggestions and said that if marijuana were legal in Nevada it would have "no impact whatsoever."

After all, if the game were moved, where else would all the owners pick up legal prostitutes and players legally gamble away their week's salary?

Posted 11:25 PM by SAFER Choice |

CSU Collegian Endorses Amendment 44 In Weird French-Fry-Related Fashion

The Rocky Mountain Collegian, Colorado State University's daily student newspaper, is without a doubt the most professional college publication we have seen in Colorado. They have been covering SAFER's efforts on campus and around the state for two years now, and they have certainly done so in a fair and unbiased manner. Thus, it was a pleasant surprise to see them stand up last week -- after constantly hearing both sides of the argument -- and say vote YES on Amendment 44. You can check out the aptly titled editoral,"Don't eat french fries," here. We have included our favorite line below.

But with all this freedom running around in foreign lands like a drunken sailor thrashing a broken beer bottle at anyone in sight, though, one would think giving people the choice of a drug clearly more benign than legal alcohol wouldn't even be up for debate in America. But for some outdated, puritanical reason, it is. Let's change that next Tuesday.

Posted 11:04 PM by SAFER Choice |

Our Apologies

What we're sorry for...

We are sorry for the lack of updates of late. As you can imagine, our two-person staff has been quite swamped this final couple weeks. We are going to catch up here and do our best to stay on top of this these final few days leading up to the election. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

What we're not sorry for...

The campaign has heard from some individuals who are not pleased with our new television commercial. For this reason, we thought that we would publish a quick note about it.

The goal of this campaign -- and all of the efforts supported by SAFER and the SAFER Voter Education Fund -- is to educate the public about the fact that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol. Toward this end, SAFER believes it is extremely important to highlight the relative harms of each substance. By doing so, we can make the point that it simply does not make sense to punish people for using marijuana instead of alcohol.

A large segment of our society has been so brainwashed by government propaganda that they are not receptive to a soft-sell of the "marijuana is safer than alcohol" message. Keep in mind that many of you are already awoken to the insanity of current marijuana laws and already agree adults should be allowed to use it legally. Thus, when you are jostled, you might become agitated. But many people are still asleep and completely oblivious to this issue. So, whereas our critics say we need to reach out to those folks "in the middle," we agree. But we do not agree that we should be coddling them and whispering the truth in their ear. We're going to WAKE THEM UP and make it loud and clear that our laws are crazy and in need of immediate change.

We clearly live in a alcohol-based society, and the statistics cited in the ad are a direct result of that. Steering people toward alcohol instead of marijuana is undoubtedly leading to more incidents of domestic abuse and sexual assault (as well as other acts of violence). Advocates of marijuana policy reform should do everything in their power to blame government for this situation (and rightfully so) and to demand changes immediately.

Finally, it should be noted strongly that SAFER is NOT calling for alcohol prohibition (Mason has now been referred to as Carrie Nation a second time). We are merely arguing that adults should be allowed to use a substance less likely to harm them, if that is what they prefer. SAFER is not using Drug Czar-like tactics to demonize alcohol. It is simply not possible to make the case that marijuana is safer without pointing out the harms associated with alcohol.

Thank you to everyone who has shared his or her honest opinion about the ad with the campaign. We trust you understand we dot wish to offend anyone and are certainly doing what we think is best. If you disagree with our decisions, we respect that and believe you are entitled to your opinion. We simply encourage you to continue to base your support for this effort on your principles -- your belief that adults should not be criminals for using marijuana -- and not your taste in advertising and media strategy.

Posted 1:33 AM by SAFER Choice |

Powerful Amendment 44 Television Commercial Hits Colorado Airwaves

This powerful "YES on 44" commercial began airing on CNN, FOX News and CNBC in Colorado yesterday. The commercial, which is designed to point out the dangers associated with alcohol use and question why we prohibit adults from using the safer alternative, marijuana, can be viewed on YouTube: