Pubdate: Thu, 08 Nov 2007
Source: Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)
Copyright: 2007 Denver Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.rockymountainnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/371
Author: David Montero, Rocky Mountain News
Cited: SAFER http://saferdenver.saferchoice.org/
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Mason+Tvert
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Marijuana)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

MARIJUANA MEASURE NOT LIKELY TO MATTER

But Hick Promises to Form Panel After 'Symbolic' Initiative

Once again on a ballot measure, Mason Tvert pushed for allowing
marijuana possession in Denver, and once again, he got it by a
whopping vote total.

And once again, the vote likely means nothing legally.

Ballot Question 100 sought to make possession of less than one ounce
of marijuana the "lowest law enforcement priority."

This comes on the heels of a 2005 ballot measure pushed by Tvert and
his group, Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation, or SAFER, that
legalized possession of less than an ounce of marijuana within the
city of Denver.

Tuesday's measure passed 53.6 percent to 43.7 percent, with only
several thousand votes still outstanding.

Since 2005, Tvert has pushed three pot ballot measures - and has now
succeeded on two of them.

The third was a statewide ballot measure in 2006 that sought to
legalize possession of less than an ounce of marijuana in Colorado.
That measure failed badly in the state, but Tvert pointed out that it
actually passed in Denver, too.

"It's just showing more and more people are fed up with the way our
city is handling this," Tvert said.

"We hope they will respect the will of the voters."

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper issued a statement Wednesday saying
that he understands the frustration with current marijuana laws and
that he will create a community-based panel to review the issues
raised by the initiative.

"We respect the fact that many voters used this largely symbolic
initiative to register frustration with the federal war on drugs,"
Hickenlooper said in his statement. "Given that adult possession of
less than an ounce of marijuana is already one of the police
department's lowest priorities, it is unclear what substantive impact,
if any, the initiative's passage will make."

And Denver Police Chief Gerry Whitman said that the department doesn't
currently target possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.

Tvert said he believes that if he keeps pushing the issue on the
ballot, the idea of marijuana being an unusual or strange thing to
vote on will diminish.

"It's more and more a legitimate issue," he said. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake