Madison NORML

National NORML is helping to raise funds and coordinate efforts with SAFER. NORML Director Allen St. Pierre and NORML advisory board member Norm Stamper, the former police chief of Seattle and a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), were both in attendance at the Capitol counter-rally described in the article.

I'm told that if it doesn't pass this time, there will be a network of grass roots activists, including many NORML members, ready to push it through in 2008.

The best scenario would be for it to pass next Tuesday, so this approach, which the Times describes as, "Alcohol is more dangerous than marijuana, and therefore, marijuana should be legalized", can be used in other states.

This is just common sense. As a society, we have become numb to the daily barrage of negative side effects of overconsumption of alcohol. Clearly it is more than a problem, it is a crisis. Young men are drowning in the Mississippi River at La Crosse WI after getting drunk and falling in. The last victim had a .0432 BAC. La Crosse County decriminalized pot, but that does not go far enough. The state needs to legalize it. Under the current laws, we reward people for choosing alcohol and punish them for choosing cannabis.

People are dying. Legalizing cannabis is harm reduction. These are our children, falling off porches, drowning in pools, being beat up or raped. And these are our tax dollars being used to corral unruly drunks and police rowdy streets and keep the peace, at great cost. Madison spent many hundreds of thousands of dollars preparing and policing Halloween. No riots this year, but plenty of drinking. The Detox Unit was prepared for a deluge of drunks. Who pays? We do.

But, you can play offense. There is still time for readers to donate to the SAFER campaign. They get good results with little funding. Be a part of history. SAFER website click here

Richmond Graduate Fuels Colorado Pot Movement

Pubdate: Tue, 31 Oct 2006
Source: Washington Times (DC) click here
Copyright: 2006 News World Communications, Inc.
Contact: letters@washingtontimes.com
Author: Valerie Richardson, The Washington Times

RICHMOND GRADUATE FUELS COLORADO POT MOVEMENT

If Coloradans vote to legalize marijuana statewide next week, it will be almost entirely because of the efforts of a pudgy, clean-shaven 24-year-old University of Richmond graduate.

Mason Tvert, campaign manager for Safer Alternatives for Enjoyable Recreation, has pushed Colorado to the forefront of the marijuana movement, first with his successful 2004 Denver campaign and now with the statewide Amendment 44.

The amendment would allow people 21 and older to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana for personal use. If approved, it would make Colorado the first state to decriminalize marijuana.

It's a lofty goal for a campaign that, as Mr. Tvert describes it, consists of "two guys in a rental car." Mr. Tvert is running the effort from his cell phone and laptop, but that doesn't mean his opponents aren't taking him seriously.

Federal drug czar John P. Walters visited Colorado three times this year to denounce the effort, which almost every state lawmaker opposes. What Mr. Tvert brings to the table are energy, imagination, a knack for attracting free press and relentless tactics.

A case in point was an anti-Amendment 44 press conference Friday at the state capitol. Gov. Bill Owens, a Republican, and other state officials were expecting to address reporters on the dangers of pot, but instead were bombarded by more than 100 marijuana advocates, led by Mr. Tvert, chanting slogans and waving green campaign signs.

The protesters tried to drown out Mr. Owens and other speakers with jeers such as "Lie louder, Bill." A frustrated Mr. Owens finally responded, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is a sad day for Colorado."

Attorney General John Suthers chided Mr. Tvert for interrupting the governor's message. "I thought his behavior was reprehensible," he said.

Whether such tactics will Mr. Tvert him any votes is debatable. A Denver Post poll showed Amendment 44 trailing 57 percent to 34 percent, with 9 percent undecided.

Mr. Tvert, who is counting on a big turnout from students after his campus voter-registration drives, said his supporters aren't easily reached on land lines. What is clear is that Mr. Tvert has hit a chord with his primary message: Alcohol is more dangerous than marijuana, and therefore, marijuana should be legalized.

His message is backed by personal experience. He said that the summer before entering the University of Richmond, he drank himself unconscious during a concert and woke up in the emergency room.

He wasn't cited or punished, even though he was underage. He was subpoenaed later to testify against a fellow student who had been arrested for marijuana possession.

"What it shows is that our government's priorities on drug education are so skewed," Mr. Tvert said. "Have you ever seen a government committee warning that you could die of drinking? No. But I've seen plenty of commercials telling people they could ruin their lives smoking pot."

MAP posted-by: Richard Lake
READ Article at MAP/DrugSense: click here