Pubdate: Sun, 06 Feb 2005
Source: Daily Camera (CO)
Copyright: 2005 The Daily Camera.
Contact:  http://www.thedailycamera.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/103
Author: Brittany Anas and Ryan Morgan, Camera Staff Writers
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

ALCOHOL, NOT POT, SHOULD BE POLICE FOCUS, GROUP SAYS

SAFER Wants Priority Shifted to Alcohol Enforcement

Marijuana is a much safer drug than alcohol, a new campaign says, and
punishments for smoking a joint or taking a hit from a bong are too
harsh.

"Alcohol has long been linked to overdose deaths, sexual assault,
violent crime and vandalism on campus," said SAFER Executive Director
Mason Tvert, a recent graduate from the University of Virginia. 	
SAFER stands for Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation. The
nonprofit group was founded last month and is organizing campus
chapters at the University of Colorado and Colorado State University,
Tvert said.

The group is critical of public and campus policies regarding
marijuana, and is seeking to get an initiative on campus ballots this
spring that would ease marijuana restrictions.

"If someone who is 21 years of age or older is using marijuana at
their house or at a party inside, they should not be a police
priority," Tvert said. "Countless public resources that could be used
to battle the problems associated with alcohol continue to be funneled
towards the war on marijuana."

SAFER members have been on CU's campus recruiting members to join
their campaign, Tvert said.

CU students who are ticketed or arrested for alcohol-or drug-related
charges are referred to the school's judicial affairs board. The
university has a "two strikes" policy, which means students can be
suspended after two alcohol or drug violations.

"The focus of our student code of conduct is on both drugs and
alcohol," said CU spokeswoman Pauline Hale. "There has been a great
deal of concern about the effects of alcohol, and I don't believe
resources are being 'funneled.'"

Last weekend, the CU Police Department ticketed eight students for
underage drinking. No students were ticketed for marijuana. In 2003,
there were 79 drug-related offenses handled by CU police and 240
alcohol-related violations, according to the department.

Statistics are not yet available for 2004.

Zack C. Tyler, a freshman at CU, sides with SAFER's argument that
alcohol is a more harmful drug than marijuana. Tyler was ticketed for
possession of marijuana by the university's Police Department in December.

Tyler and two of his friends were smoking from a pipe when they were
spotted by an undercover officer, according to police.

"I know from experience that marijuana doesn't have as drastic effects
on your emotions as alcohol does," Tyler said. "You have a lot more
control over what you're doing with marijuana. Obviously, the law
doesn't see it that way."

Tyler said he was sentenced to 26 hours of community service, and the
university's judicial affairs placed him on probation -- meaning if he
is caught smoking marijuana or drinking alcohol during the spring
semester he could be booted from the school. He said he was also
required to write a three-to four-page paper about marijuana.

Lt. Steve Prentup of the Boulder County Drug Task Force said his
concern with marijuana is that it causes people to pay less attention
to detail and can make them apathetic.

"Is it mind-expanding or mind-numbing?" Prentup said. "You've got to
ask yourself that. The whole purpose of marijuana is to get to an
altered state."

SAFER organizers said they are first tackling campus issues, but may
eventually expand their campaign to a broader, statewide level.

State legislators representing districts that include CU and CSU said
they were sympathetic to SAFER's proposals, but also said that the
current political climate makes it unlikely that they'll be adopted
any time soon.

"I don't know of anyone who's died of an overdose of marijuana," said
Rep. Angie Paccione, D-Fort Collins. "We know that quite a few
students use marijuana, and we haven't seen any of them dying on couches."

She said the Legislature would be better off focusing its efforts on
booze, particularly hard liquor, which -- unlike beer -- has been
implicated in recent student deaths from alcohol poisoning.

House Majority Leader Alice Madden, D-Boulder, said she has long been
an advocate of reducing jail sentences for nonviolent drug offenders.
But she said efforts to ease back on drug enforcement aren't popular
politically.

"Under the current political climate, there's just no way," she
said. 
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