Spring Break
In wake of pot measure defeat, SAFER goes national
As the smoke clears and the buzz fades, some say the marijuana-legalization landscape has been forever altered
Vimal Patel
Issue date: 1/25/07 Section: News
The group started in 2005 when it sponsored student initiatives at CSU and CU-Boulder calling on administrators to loosen penalties for students caught with marijuana. Both measures handily passed, with 56 percent of the vote at CSU.
Although the measures were non-binding and scored no practical changes in how CSU and CU-Boulder administrators dealt with pot offenders, SAFER used the results as part of the group's public relations assault to claim the officials were, yet again, trampling on the will of the people.
It also used the mini victories as a springboard for Initiative 100 in Denver, which, to the shock of many, voters approved in November 2005. The measure legalized possession of up to an ounce of pot in the city, but the drug remained illegal under state and federal laws.
Although two prominent legalization measures - Nevada had a similar ballot initiative - were defeated in November, some say progress, slowly but surely, is being made.
The Nevada measure, which went further than Colorado's by offering a system of marijuana taxation and regulation, got 44 percent of the vote. A similar legalization measure four years before got 39 percent.
"There's a lot of residual fear that people have about marijuana, which to some degree is the result of decades of propaganda and fear campaigns," said Bruce Mirken, communications director for The Marijuana Policy Project, the group behind the Nevada measure.
"I think what we learned is that it's harder than anyone realized to overcome those irrational fears with rational arguments."
But there's some hope, he said. While the Colorado and Nevada measures were shot down, a handful of cities and counties nationwide - from Eureka Springs, Ark., to Santa Monica, Calif. - passed ordinances making possession of small amounts of marijuana their lowest law enforcement priority.
For good or bad, Mirken said, marijuana is here to stay and the only question now is how society deals with it: Should it be regulated and legally available or pushed underground where it will remain under the control of the criminal element?
"To me," Mirken said, "it's a no brainer."
Managing Editor Vimal Patel can be reached at news@collegian.com.
Although the measures were non-binding and scored no practical changes in how CSU and CU-Boulder administrators dealt with pot offenders, SAFER used the results as part of the group's public relations assault to claim the officials were, yet again, trampling on the will of the people.
It also used the mini victories as a springboard for Initiative 100 in Denver, which, to the shock of many, voters approved in November 2005. The measure legalized possession of up to an ounce of pot in the city, but the drug remained illegal under state and federal laws.
Although two prominent legalization measures - Nevada had a similar ballot initiative - were defeated in November, some say progress, slowly but surely, is being made.
The Nevada measure, which went further than Colorado's by offering a system of marijuana taxation and regulation, got 44 percent of the vote. A similar legalization measure four years before got 39 percent.
"There's a lot of residual fear that people have about marijuana, which to some degree is the result of decades of propaganda and fear campaigns," said Bruce Mirken, communications director for The Marijuana Policy Project, the group behind the Nevada measure.
"I think what we learned is that it's harder than anyone realized to overcome those irrational fears with rational arguments."
But there's some hope, he said. While the Colorado and Nevada measures were shot down, a handful of cities and counties nationwide - from Eureka Springs, Ark., to Santa Monica, Calif. - passed ordinances making possession of small amounts of marijuana their lowest law enforcement priority.
For good or bad, Mirken said, marijuana is here to stay and the only question now is how society deals with it: Should it be regulated and legally available or pushed underground where it will remain under the control of the criminal element?
"To me," Mirken said, "it's a no brainer."
Managing Editor Vimal Patel can be reached at news@collegian.com.
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