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By Mason Tvert, Citizens for a Safer Denver

Should Denver law enforcers focus on muggings or marijuana?

Should they be fighting property damage instead of pot? Gangs and graffiti instead of ganja? Domestic violence instead of doobies?

If you think so, then vote “Yes” on Initiated Question 100 (I-100), the final item on this year’s all-mail ballot in Denver.

I-100 would designate possession of small amounts of marijuana by adults the city’s lowest law enforcement priority.

In other words, it would direct the city to stop wasting its limited law enforcement resources — and our tax dollars — arresting adults 21 and older for possessing less than 1 ounce of marijuana.

After all, Denver voters made it clear in 2005 that we do not want our city going out of its way to punish adults just for using a drug that every objective study has concluded is far less harmful than alcohol.

Yet more adults than ever before — about 1,400 — were arrested in Denver for simple marijuana possession in 2006.

To put this in perspective, consider Seattle, where a measure virtually identical to Initiated Question 100 was adopted in 2003.

That city has seen a significant decline in adult marijuana arrests and prosecutions without any evident problems.

Despite the city of Denver having about 17,000 fewer residents than Seattle, more than 23 times as many adults were arrested here for simple possession last year. This certainly did not lead to Denver being any safer, as Seattle maintained lower rates of violent crime and homicide during the same period.

In fact, some Seattle city leaders are so pleased that they contacted Denver city leaders to let them know just how successful it has been.

In formal letters sent to each of the Denver City Council members, Seattle City Council President Nick Licata and Councilman Tom Rasmussen wrote, “Seattle is proud to serve as an example of a city that has established a more sensible marijuana policy that is safe, effective and inexpensive.”

Yet Denver’s city leaders have ignored this clear example of success, inexplicably choosing to fight the will of the voters rather than follow it.

They say marijuana possession already is a low priority. Yet there is no doubt it is a higher priority here than it is in Seattle.

They also continue to argue that marijuana possession is “just a $100 ticket” in Colorado. But they fail to take into account the multitude of consequences associated with one of these $100 tickets.

Among the potential collateral damages for just one marijuana citation are loss of employment; the inability to gain future employment; loss of financial aid for college; loss of public housing benefits; loss of adoption privileges and the ability to serve as a foster parent; loss of Second Amendment rights to own a firearm; and, of course, the stigma associated with a drug conviction on one’s permanent criminal record.

In the end, we must ask ourselves: Is it really worth it?

Is it really worth disrupting and permanently damaging otherwise innocent people’s lives simply because they use marijuana? Is it really worth our police spending their time making these arrests when there are far more serious crimes occurring? Is it worth the time of our prosecutors, judges, and courts to deal with these cases when there are more pressing cases piling up each day?

If you agree that is not worth it, please vote “Yes” on Initiated Question 100.

Mason Tvert is the spokesman for Citizens for a Safer Denver. Find out more about Initiated Question 100 at www.SaferDenver.com.

READER COMMENTS

JW 10:03,
You are soooo right!

Give the cops a break...the chief dude tells them what to do. They're just robots....but not smart robots. You still gotta hide the weed man...from the man... Play smart.

Go Mason! Thank you for everything you're doing. Free the weed!

The Denver police may just as well concentrate on non violent crimes like busting pot smokers.
They can't do anything else.
They can't solve murders.
They can't protect witnesses from being murdered.
They can't keep crime off of the streets.
They aren't ever around when you see all of these people speeding on the roadways, or when you see the people do their california roll stops at the stop signs.
The Denver police force is about as useless as teats on a boar hog.
And if they think that the voters are going to vote to give them more money so they can sit in their vehicles and flap their jaws and not enforce the laws they are sadly mistaken.
They continually engage in high risk behavior as is evidenced by their consistently running signal lights and smacking into innocent people and killing them.
They can't tell the difference between a gun and a soda can.
They seem to thing that a mentally, epileptic person is such a threat that they taser them to death.
But go ahead and do the only things you are any good at and thet being busting teenagers for smoking pot.
AND THE WORTHLESS DENVER POLICE FORCE MARCHES ON.

I love all of these comments about how shi**y of a job the DPD does. If you people are so pissed why don't you join the department? They could use a few good people!

I think pot should be legalized. It is not one of those drugs where people go all crazy and kill someone or something along those lines. People smoke weed, laugh a lot, and get hungry. It's harmless. It should be legalized and taxed like cigarettes. And the same rules about smoking outside should apply. The only thing that I don't like about pot is the way it smells....other than that I do not have a problem with people smoking it.

Off on a tangent here -
I also think prostitution should be legalized and taxed. It is the oldest profession in the world, and it is NEVER going to stop. Legalize it and register the women (so that they are checked regularly, given health care, and so that serial killers will have a harder time just killing them off). I would say we should register the men using their services to ensure they don't mistreat the women, but we all know what a stir that would cause because then all the married men would be upset.

Those two things bother me the most about the law. Those two things do not hurt anyone.

http://www.leap.cc/cms/index.php?name=Content&pid=28

Mason,law enforcement does not need to choose between focusing on maryjane or on muggings.They've been mugging potheads since the '30s.

Hey, Mr. Tvert,

Are you sure the police should be stopping murderers of football players and ending gang violence instead of punishing the possession of the evil plant which has yet to kill someone directly? Too logical for the DupePD.

I spent 20 years as an Employee Assistance Professional (C.E.A.P.) working for the United States Postal Service. I managed programs for 2,000, 5,000, 10,000 and 20,000 employees, supervisors and managers. During the course of those 20 years I never, I repeat never, had an employee referred to my office with an attendance, performance or conduct problem resulting from marijuana use. One letter carrier was informed that he would have to submit to a drug test after being in an accident caused by a police officer making a U turn in front of and across traffic on a very busy Fullerton, CA arterial street. The letter carrier informed Postal management, "no need to, I smoked a little weed last weekend." He retired last year after 35 years of service without a blemish on his record.

First off I would like to say I am not a resident of Denver, but I highly respect the efforts of those there now and in the past for attempting to provide for the freedom's of American citizens everywhere and our right to live our lives without fear of punishment for our choices.

Life is a precious thing that despite the idea if it is given once or many times to each of us, it is still a beautiful and miraculous time. Part of this life is about experiencing different things in order to grow and better ourselves, and hopefully those we care about (and even better for those we don't care about).

The debate over the legality of marijuana is one such area of experience that some people choose to do, and others choose not. If there is respect for the choices and free will on both sides, then a medium for dialogue can be established.

If a person chooses to use marijuana, regardless of their reason, why should they be punsihed if it does not infringe on the rights and life of another person?

Surely in our troubled world where Mother Nature has been abused for thousands of years, where mutually assured destruction still is at the back of (but still very threatening) daily life, where terrorism could strike at any moment, there are more pressing matters to attend to.

This is an important political vote for people everywhere who respect the right of choice. Please support in any way you can.

Just like Yesterday! The biggest danger in smoking POT is getting caught. I agree about the Denver cops. They have been out of control here for most of my 50 plus years. Oh and they LIE alot. I plan to be VERY vocal with my anger at the DNC. OH AND here's a TIP for the cops! I HAVE A RIGHT TO APPROACH MY GOVERNMENT for redress of GRIEVANCES. SO YOU CAN SHOVE YOUR FREE SPEECH ZONE TO BEGIN WITH! YOU WANT ANOTHER 68? I still pissed about your police riot at RED ROCKS in 1971. I was there and you boys were looking for a fight ALL DAY! It was Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull that stopped the problems by PLAYING the show. This was AFTER the DPD threw tear gas on the paying customers! So yea I know the DPD
sucks!

Since this worthless police force of ours can't even keep the gangs off of the streets, can't keep the hookers off of the streets, can't even solve one of the biggest murder cases of the year, they may as well focus their worthless selves on the crimes they can handle, like busting people for smoke even if they have a doctor's certificate saying they need it for pain.
The Denver police force is about as useless as teats on a boar hog are.
About the only thing this worthless police force can do is taser people who are insane and end up killing them with their tasers, or shoot people who have pop cans in their hands.
On top of that, combined the Denver police force has a total IQ of about 80.
They are so full of themselves and their testostrone levels when they have their ":GUNS' in their hands that it makes them think they are bigger in some areas where they are sorely lacking.
This useless police force of ours doesn't know their as* from a hole in the ground.

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