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Last Updated: 12/9/2009

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Gender: Male
Status: Single
Age: 27
Sign: Aquarius

City: Denver
State: Colorado
Country: US
Signup Date: 9/5/2006

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Thursday, April 30, 2009 

Category: News and Politics

SAFER launched the SAFER Campuses Initiative earlier this month, just as students at two major universities were voting in favor of SAFER Campus Referendums and college presidents nationwide were receiving information about the "Emerald Initiative" -- our latest project, which is designed to spark a major national debate about the relative safety of marijuana compared to alcohol and the insanity of laws and policies that steer people away from marijuana and toward drinking.


CLICK HERE or go to http://www.SAFERcampuses.org to check out our fantastic new Web site, watch the short (yet compelling) SAFER Campuses Initiative video, and read more about the this major national campaign and the latest developments.


Students adopt SAFER Referendums


This month, Purdue University and the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville became the latest colleges to adopt SAFER Referenda, calling on their schools to reduce university penalties for marijuana use so that they are no greater than those for alcohol use. This brings the total number of schools to adopt SAFER measures to 13 (including at least six of the 15 largest schools in the nation). SAFER worked closely with the Purdue and U of A chapters of NORML, who have already engaged in promising meetings with administrators regarding potential changes to campus policies.


Like past SAFER Campus campaigns, the Purdue and U of A efforts received substantial news coverage, including great stories in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette (the state's largest newspaper) and the Lafayette Journal & Courier, and segments on several TV news channels and programs.


The Emerald Initiative unveiled


The Emerald Initiative is SAFER's response to the "Amethyst Initiative" -- a highly publicized call for "informed and dispassionate public debate" on lowering the legal drinking age (as a means for curbing binge drinking among college students), which has been endorsed by 130+ college presidents and chancellors around the nation. The Emerald Initiative calls on these same university leaders to endorse a similar statement in support of "informed and dispassionate public debate" on whether allowing students to use marijuana more freely could reduce dangerous drinking on and around college campuses.


The effort has already received attention from the media, including a great piece in Inside Higher Ed and coverage in the newspapers of various colleges, such as Princeton and UPenn. The Emerald Initiative will serve as a centerpiece for the SAFER Campuses Initiative alongside the growing number of schools taking up SAFER referendums and resolutions.


Sparking a much-needed debate


SAFER's message -- that marijuana is safer than alcohol, and people should not be driven to drink -- is quickly becoming a part of the college drinking debate. Earlier this month, SAFER Executive Director Mason Tvert traveled to the University of Kansas, the site of a recent student alcohol overdose death, where he participated in a high-profile panel regarding binge drinking and efforts to address it. SAFER assisted the Drug Policy Forum of Kansas in organizing the alcohol awareness event, which featured a screening of "Death By Alcohol: The Sam Spady Story," followed by a panel featuring Tvert along with KU's Vice Provost responsible for alcohol-related programs, a representative of the KU Public Safety Office, a professor of preventive medicine from the KU Medical Center, and the head of the Kansas Licensed Beverage Association. The event was covered by local and campus news outlets.


The event at KU is just one example of how SAFER's campus presence is expanding nationwide. Showings of "Death By Alcohol" paired with discussions involving SAFER were also held this month at the University of Colorado at Boulder (concurrently with the Conference on World Affairs) and at Colorado State University, where the panel included several of the CSU staff members responsible for alcohol- and drug-related issues and legal affairs. Tvert also visited and spoke at several other colleges this spring, including the University of Missouri, William Paterson University in New Jersey, and his alma mater, the University of Richmond in Virginia.



Click here to read this post on the SAFER Blog.  


4:33 AM 
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Monday, March 02, 2009 

Category: News and Politics

Monday, 02 March 2009

The latest installment of SAFER Central is now available at HighTimes.com. The column discusses the current situation at the University of Georgia, in which administrators are at odds with the campus NORML chapter over a T-shirt featuring the school's mascot smoking a joint.

If you ever find yourself at the University of Georgia, be sure to stop by the campus bookstore and pick up some shot glasses, whiskey flasks or pint or martini glasses featuring the school’s official logo and Bulldog mascot. Just be sure you’re not wearing a T-shirt showing a bulldog using marijuana...

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the article.  


9:30 PM 
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Thursday, February 26, 2009 

Category: News and Politics
Written by Mason Tvert    
Wednesday, 25 February 2009

SAFER Executive Director Mason Tvert appeared on Fox News Channel today to discuss a California legislator's proposal to regulate and tax marijuana for recreational use.





Click here to read this post on the SAFER Blog.   

6:28 AM 
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Monday, February 23, 2009 

Category: News and Politics
Written by SAFER    
Monday, 23 February 2009

This past weekend, SAFER participated in the Midwest NORML-SSDP Conference held on the campus of the University of Missouri-Columbia. Stories about the event appeared in the Columbia media previewing and recapping the event, as well as in the campus newspaper.

    The Drug Policy Reform Conference will offer the public a chance to engage in an open dialogue about alternatives to drug prohibition. It also will give participants a chance to educate themselves about the facts surrounding drug use and criminalization in the United States.

Students and activists from Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska turned out for the event. Featured speakers included Mason Tvert of SAFER, Allen St. Pierre of NORML, Cliff Thornton of Efficacy, Pete Guither of DrugWarRant.com, Dan Viets of NORML and the ACLU, and Ryan Denham of Sensible Fayetteville, as well as several university professors, elected officials, and activists from around the region.


Click here to read this post on the SAFER Blog.   

6:30 PM 
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Thursday, February 19, 2009 

Category: News and Politics
Written by SAFER    
Thursday, 19 February 2009
 
Tell UGA Administrators to respect students' political speech regarding marijuana!

 
Administrators at the University of Georgia are threatening to kick a student organization off campus because it created T-shirts that read "Legalize" and "Equalize," and feature a hand-drawn image of the UGA mascot, Hairy Dawg, smoking a joint.

The Georgia chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) at UGA created the shirts to send a message that marijuana laws should be reformed and that marijuana should be treated equal to alcohol. It did NOT use any of UGA's trademarked images or logos, and there is sound legal precedent in favor of the students' right to political speech and satire.

The administration's actions are clearly driven by its opposition to the content of the shirts -- the image of marijuana use and suggestion that marijuana laws be reformed. Yet UGA allows its logos and mascot to be printed on shot glasses, flasks, and other alcohol-related paraphernalia, despite the fact that alcohol use is FAR more harmful and problematic than marijuana use -- especially on college campuses.

Click on the button below to send an e-mail to Vice President of Student Affairs Rodney Bennett, and tell the UGA Administration to leave the Georgia NORML chapter alone and stop the hypocrisy!

Click here to read this post on the SAFER Blog.   
6:27 PM 
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Monday, September 29, 2008 

..SAFER will be heading out to the 2008 national conference of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), which will be held in Berkeley from October 17-19.

Along with having an information booth present, SAFER Executive Director Mason Tvert will be a member of what is expected to be one of the more popular panels during the weekend: The War on Drugs Is A War on Young People. Tvert will be joined by Kris Krane and Micah Daigle of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, as well as attorney Omar Figueroa, to discuss how the prohibition of marijuana has a highly disparate effect on younger people.  ..

The panel will be moderated by NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano (left), who recently had a couple great pieces. One was a featured post on The Hill's Congress Blog, and the other -- which discusses the panel's subject -- appeared as an essay in In These Times. 

According to data compiled by the FBI, 74 percent of all Americans
busted for pot are under 30. One out of four is 18 or younger.

We now have a generation (or two) that is so alienated that many
young people believe the police are an instrument of their oppression
rather than their protection.

While young people suffer the most under current anti-pot laws, they
lack the financial means and political capital to influence politicians
to challenge them. They also lack the money to adequately fund the drug
law reform movement at a level necessary to represent and protect their
interests.



As a result, marijuana arrests continue to climb unabated. And few
in the mainstream press — and even fewer lawmakers — feel any
sufficient political pressure to address it.

2:50 AM 
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Thursday, April 24, 2008 
By Mason Tvert

Marijuana prohibition is not just about weed. It is a weed.

It's a weed that sprouted more than 75 years ago and spread state to state, enveloping the entire nation as poison ivy would a garden.

In the past 30 years, some branches of the weed have been trimmed down or lopped off in the form of positive legislation or policy changes. For example, a handful of state legislatures decriminalized marijuana in the 1970s, and in the past decade or so we have seen a number of states adopt laws permitting the use of medical marijuana. This is not to mention the growing number of cities that have passed a wide variety of local measures.

But despite such constant pruning efforts of legislators and activists, the prohibition weed remains alive.

Consider for example that annual U.S. marijuana arrests reached an all-time high once again in 2006, and federal legislation that would protect medical marijuana patients from DEA raids and prosecution has continually failed, gaining just a little ground each year despite widespread public support. In fact, anti-prohibition forces are actually losing ground in some parts of the country. In Ohio – a decriminalization state -- the Cincinnati City Council recently "recriminalized" possession of small amounts of marijuana, and a similarly needless "recrim" effort is now underway in Nebraska.

If we wish to stem such growth of the prohibition weed, we must treat it like any other weed. We must kill it. And, like killing any weed, this means we must attack it at its root.

First, we must identify that root. Sure, racism against Hispanics and blacks played a large role in the establishment and growth of prohibition. So did political and economic opportunism by people in power trying to appear tough on crime and corner certain industries.

But in the end, all of the stories about marijuana making black men rape white women and the "gateway drug" rhetoric boil down to one underlying principle: the perception of harm. Marijuana became illegal and has remained that way because the general public simply believes it is just too dangerous to allow its use.

Many reformers and activists recognize this root and have argued for years that marijuana is relatively safe compared to other widely used – and legal – drugs like alcohol and tobacco. But far too often marijuana reform supporters stray toward arguments that do not take this perception of harm head-on.

For example, we point out that enforcing marijuana laws is a poor use of law enforcement resources or that using marijuana is a civil liberty. These are obviously valid arguments, but how do they change the minds of those who think marijuana is so dangerous it must remain prohibited? After all, if an individual currently thinks marijuana should be completely illegal, then by nature they do not agree it is a waste of resources to enforce these laws, and they certainly will not agree that marijuana use is an essential freedom.

?Thus, if we want these people to change their positions – or at least become less hostile to reform – we must first educate them that marijuana is actually not so harmful. Once they acknowledge this fact, they will be far more likely to agree with us that enforcement is a waste of resources, that people's rights are being needlessly trampled, and so on.

Just like with a weed, if we fail to attack marijuana prohibition at its root, it will never die. We can trim it up and make it appear less unsightly by changing laws and policies here and there. But in the end, it will remain alive and pervasive until we yank it out of the ground, roots and all, and prevent it from ever rearing its ugly head again.

Mason Tvert is the executive director of Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER). Find out more and contact SAFER at: www.saferchoice.org
8:32 PM 
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Thursday, April 24, 2008 
Wed, Mar 12, 2008 11:06 am
more: safer central

By Mason Tvert

Voters in Denver have made it increasingly clear they do not want their city punishing adults for using marijuana.

A majority voted to remove all penalties for private possession under city ordinances in 2005, and an even larger majority voted in favor of doing so at the state level in 2006. Most recently, in 2007, 57 percent of voters approved a new city ordinance directing police and prosecutors to make adult possession their absolute lowest priority.

Although support for reform is on the rise in the Mile High City, the trend in the annual number of citations being issued is moving in the opposite direction.

According to statistics recently unearthed by Sensible Colorado, a statewide marijuana policy reform organization, about 1,600 adults were cited for misdemeanor possession in 2007, an increase of about 18 percent from 2006, 36 percent from 2005, and a whopping 50 percent from 2004. Racial disparities are also evident, as blacks make up just about 10 percent of Denver's population yet account for 32 percent of citations.

Clearly, Denver city officials have a marijuana problem. It appears they are addicted to punishing people for pot when in fact they have every right to stop doing so at any time.

Whereas in Denver they have been unwilling to kick their habit without putting up a fight, other cities have managed to go cold turkey and follow the will of the voters. In Missoula, Montana, where a similar "lowest priority" measure was adopted in 2006, County Attorney Fred Van Valkenburg issued a formal policy last fall directing city police to stop issuing simple possession citations and requiring prosecutors to make such cases their absolute lowest priority. No formal policy has been necessary in Seattle, where marijuana possession cases have naturally been on the decline and advocates and city officials agree their "lowest priority" ordinance (approved in 2003) has been a success.

In an August 2007 letter to the Denver City Council, Seattle councilmen Nick Licata and Tom Rasmussen referred to their city's ordinance as "safe, effective, and inexpensive." They also noted that, "In the three years since [the measure] was adopted, Seattle has experienced a significant decline in the number of marijuana arrests and prosecutions undertaken."

In fact, Seattle handled just 125 marijuana possession cases in 2006, compared to approximately 1,400 in Denver, despite it having a smaller population.

Fortunately for Denver citizens, however, there is an intervention – and a very public discussion – underway.

As a result of the successful initiative in 2007, Mayor John Hickenlooper appointed a Marijuana Policy Review Panel, which is officially charged with implementing the "lowest priority" ordinance to the greatest extent possible. The panel includes representatives of the police department and city attorney's office, two marijuana policy reform advocates, three defense attorneys, a drug and alcohol abuse prevention counselor, and a domestic violence prevention advocate. The Denver District Attorney's office was also supposed to be represented, but it refused to participate – a perfect example of the stubbornness and ignorance that lies at the heart of marijuana prohibition.

The panel just met for the second time this past week, but already things are looking promising. A resolution was introduced that encourages the Denver City Attorney's Office to adopt a formal policy (like the one in Missoula) swearing off prosecution in cases of simple adult possession. The proposal will go up for a vote at the next panel meeting, which will likely be held early this summer.

Clearly change is not going to come easy in the Mile High City. But that is what the people want and have voted for three times: a change in how the city does business when it comes to adult marijuana use. Moreover, as the city continues to act irrationally and provide no good reason for dragging its feet, support for reform continues to grow. Many citizens who did not necessarily care about marijuana are now upset by the city's arrogance and lack of respect for the voters, and even more continue to hear positive stories about the issue in the news.

A movement is underway, and it is only a matter of time before changes in Denver's marijuana policy become a reality.

Mason Tvert is the executive director of Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER). Find out more and contact SAFER at: www.saferchoice.org
8:27 PM 
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Thursday, April 24, 2008 
SAFER Central Thu, Apr 24, 2008 1:53 pm
more: safer central, activism

By Mason Tvert



420 was bigger than ever this year. Major news sources like the Chicago Tribune and MSNBC.com carried stories about how widely recognized and commercialized the marijuana holiday has become, and reports of major demonstrations and public smoke-ins filled newspapers and newscasts all over the country. As usual, the week before the event was filled with editorials and preview stories that portrayed 420 as a nuisance in which people openly defied the law.



Nowhere was the 420 hysteria more prevalent than in Colorado, where thousands traditionally gather on the University of Colorado (CU) campus in Boulder and in Denver's Civic Center Park.



For example, an editorial in the Daily Camera, a Boulder newspaper, called the event "mostly a juvenile stunt" at which "few will be interested in democracy or changing laws."



"They'll just be there to thumb their noses at 'the man,'" it concluded.



The notion that 4/20-goers do not want to see marijuana laws change is clearly ludicrous, but let's just assume that it's true. Let's say it is juvenile, it isn't about changing laws, and it is simply about people thumbing their nose at "the man."



My question to the editors: what's the problem with that?



Really, why is 4/20 so problematic when there are actually no serious problems associated with it? At least no problems caused by those using marijuana.



No riots. No fights. No deaths. Nothing. Just a bunch of people gathering in a particular place on a particular day, "acting juvenile" and getting intoxicated in public.



Is this any worse than, say, a college or professional sporting event? Consider for example Colorado's Rocky Mountain Showdown, the annual football game between the University of Colorado and Colorado State University.



This past year the traditional game between the interstate rivals was held on September 1 (9/1) at Invesco Field in Denver. As per usual, thousands of fans crowded into the parking lot to tailgate before the game, publicly consume whatever booze they might have brought with them, and basically "act juvenile" up until and throughout the duration of the game. After all, beer-bonging, big foam hands, the wave, and high-fiving are hardly a model for mature behavior.



Yet this event on 9/1 was widely considered acceptable – it was welcomed, even. Whereas, for some reason, 4/20 is not.



Despite the fact that thousands of people around the world smoke marijuana all day at annual 4/20 events, nobody has ever died as a result. In fact, nobody in history has ever died solely from using marijuana.



The same certainly cannot be said for alcohol, and unfortunately the same cannot be said for the annual college football event in Colorado.



On the day of the Rocky Mountain Showdown in 2004 (this time on 9/4), Colorado State University freshman Samantha Spady drank so much alcohol before, during and after the game that her body simply stopped functioning that evening and she died. Whether it was drinking at the game or using marijuana at a 4/20 rally, 19-year-old Sam Spady would have been breaking the law. Yet for some irrational reason our society deems the former typical college behavior and the latter a public nuisance.



Speaking of public nuisances…



On 4/20, there were zero arrests at CU and fewer than 10 in Denver, none of which were for violent or aggressive behavior. Only about five people combined between the two events required medical attention (just about all of which were for dehydration).



Compare this to the football game on 9/1, at which medical crews were called to 125 alcohol-related incidents, ambulances took 14 people to the hospital for alcohol-related issues, 46 people were sent to detox for being too intoxicated, and 12 were arrested for fighting and other crimes.



The 4/20 and 9/1 crowds also treated police quite differently. On 4/20, nobody demonstrated aggression toward police and no serious police confrontations occurred. Yet on 9/1, police were forced to don riot gear and use tear gas after drunken fans began pelting them with bottles and spraying them with beer.



It's time the media stops blindly buying into the anti-marijuana hysteria and starts asking itself and the powers that be some serious questions.



If a marijuana rally is more peaceful and less troublesome than a college football game, why is it a problem? Or, perhaps more importantly, if marijuana contributes to far fewer problems than alcohol, why is it illegal?



Mason Tvert is the executive director of Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER). Find out more and contact SAFER at: www.saferchoice.org
8:13 PM 
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Wednesday, October 25, 2006 
--> -->Final Push Fundraiser at Mayor Hickenlooper's Bar in Denver

We will be holding one final fundraiser for this last push across the finish line. And what's more is we're doing it in style! Please join us Friday night from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Mayor Hickenlooper's Wynkoop Brewing Company at 1634 18th Street in downtown Denver.

This event is being hosted by NORML's Allen St. Pierre and SAFER's Mason Tvert, and confirmed guests include Norm Stamper, George Rohrbacher and Dr. Robert Melamede.

There will be a cash cocktail service and we will have delicious appetizers available. The recommended donation for this event is $50 ($25 for students) and all proceeds will go to the SAFER Voter Education Fund, of which the Amendment 44 campaign is a project. This event is FREE for all elected officials and candidates!

We really need your help to keep funds coming in so we can keep getting materials out. We must maintain this momentum into Election Day on Nov. 7, so please come out and help give this campaign one final boost!

Checks and cash are acceptable at the door, otherwise please visit our donate page today to make your payment and then contact us to let us know you will be attending.

** Important - The use of marijuana will not be tolerated at this venue. Our opponents and law enforcement will be watching for this, so please do not do anything to put yourself or the campaign in jeopardy **

Please Come toThese BIG Campaign Events!

There are a few BIG names in marijuana law reform stepping up and speaking out in favor of Amendment 44, the measure to make marijuana legal for adults in Colorado.

Thursday, Oct. 26

11:15 a.m. - noon -- Press conference (w/ special guests)
Denver City-County Building* - 1437 Bannock Street, Denver
*possibly going to be relocated due to weather

If you support Amendment 44, please come out to the press conference on Thursday to show your support -- we could use all the help we can get for these final two weeks and the bigger presence we can make at this event, the better.

7 p.m. - 9 p.m. -- "Marijuana: The Unnecessary War"
University of Denver - Boettcher Hall - 2050 E. Iliff Avenue, Denver
*** FREE & open to the public ***

A panel discussion hosted by NORML Board Member and former Washington State Senator George Rohrbacher (DU, '70) featuring:

Norman Stamper, former Seattle Police Chief
State Rep. Gary Lindstrom, former law enforcement officer and coroner
Dr. Robert Melamede, cannabinoid researcher, biology professor and former department chair at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs
Jeralyn Merritt, prominent Colorado criminal defense attorney and legal analyst
Allen St. Pierre, national director of NORML
Mason Tvert, campaign director of SAFER

If you or anyone you know is still on the fence about the issue of marijuana and Amendment 44, we strongly encourage you to attend the panel discussion at DU on Thursday where you can hear some very prominent folks discuss marijuana in an honest and open environment so that you can make an informed decision when you vote. Supporters are also welcome to attend this FREE event and encouraged to bring friends, family and coworkers.

** Important - The use of marijuana will not be tolerated at these venues. Our opponents and law enforcement will be watching for this, so please do not do anything to put yourself or the campaign in jeopardy **

3:08 PM 
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Wednesday, October 25, 2006 
--> -->Amendment 44 Takes a Lesson From Coors: Sex Sells

But rather than selling alcohol, we're selling a much-needed change to our marijuana laws.

Below is the press release we sent out yesterday.

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release - October 24, 2006
Colorado Marijuana Legalization Campaign Unveils Billboards Featuring Bikini-Clad Woman Touting Relative Benefits of Marijuana Over Alcohol

Billboard reads, "MARIJUANA: No Hangovers, No Violence, No Carbs!"

DENVER â€" At a press conference attended by local and national media today, the Amendment 44 campaign unveiled its latest billboard in support of its initiative to make the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana legal for adults under Colorado state law. This billboard, which appears at two locations in Denver, features a bikini-clad woman and touts the relative benefits of marijuana over alcohol. The text of the billboard â€" see image below â€" reads, "MARIJUANA: No Hangovers, No Violence, No Carbs!"

The press conference was held beneath one of the billboards, which is located at 1381 W. Alameda Ave. in Denver, just next door to the Great American Beer Store. The large sign for the store and the billboard appear adjacent to each other to motorists, creating a stark and appropriate contrast.

The billboard is consistent with the primary message of the campaign, as well as the organization behind it, which is that marijuana is a safer alternative to alcohol and, therefore, it makes no sense to punish adults for making the rational choice to use marijuana instead of alcohol.

"We will continue to do everything in our power to make people think about the fact that our laws irrationally drive people to drink and prohibit the use of marijuana," said SAFER Campaign Director Mason Tvert. "Many members of the public seem willing to accept the fact that laws pushing people toward alcohol increase the likelihood of family and community violence and even death. Maybe the fact that Americans are being driven to higher carbohydrate intake will finally cause people to reconsider the value of our current laws."
# # #The full billboard image appeared in color in yesterday's Rocky Mountain News. An intriguing and sexy photo for them...free advertising for us!

Denver Post Endorses Alcohol...Seriously...

Despite the fact that Amendment 44 only pertains to adults and not kids, and that it will remain illegal for minors to possess marijuana and illegal to give marijuana to a minor, the Denver Post does not think adults over 21 should be allowed to possess a small amount of marijuana for private use. Why?

[W]e worry about the message to young people if Colorado passes 44...
Ahhhh...the sweet smell of bullshit.

Just what "message" do they think they're sending to young people with their "Beer of the Week" feature? I guess it's OK to push deadly drugs on the public, so long as they're from "those friendly folks at brewing giant Anheuser-Busch."

Can't you just smell the hypocrisy? The profits being made by the beer company? The ad sales in the Post?

Perhaps it's time our newspapers stop worrying about the message we MIGHT send young people by making marijuana legal for adults and start worrying about the message they are sending young people right now. We have yet to hear why it's OK for adults to drink and not OK for them to use marijuana, an undoubtedlly less harmful drug.

And just in case you were wondering, this week's Denver Post "Beer of the Week" was Michelob Porter.

3:05 PM 
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Wednesday, October 25, 2006 
-->StartFragment -->
Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update Covers Marijuana Initiatives

This past weekend the anchors of Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live discussed the efforts in Colorado and Nevada to make marijuana legal for adults.

After announcing the news, the male anchor (Seth Meyers) turned to the female anchor (Amy Poehler) to get her perspective on the story. However, she was gone and in her chair was a sign that read, "Colorado or Bust."

There was then a voice-over of Poehler as Meyers reads the note she left behind.
My Dearest Seth:

It pains me that I did not get a chance to say goodbye. But you've known since you met me that I would gladly trade our friendship for an ounce of hassle-free weed.

Sincerely yours,
Amy
3:04 PM 
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Wednesday, October 25, 2006 
--> -->Rocky Lets Suthers and Tvert Go at It in Print

A column in favor of Amendment 44 from SAFER Campaign Director Mason Tvert and a column against Amendment 44 from Attorney General John Suthers appeared side-by-side in this past weekend's Rocky Mountain News.

 

Denver Post Disagrees With Majority of Denver Voters, Wants Readers to Be Criminals, Endorses What It Calls A Failed War on Drugs

The Denver Post editorialized a "NO" vote on Amendment 44 this past weekend. We're sorry to say that this comes as more of a disappointment than a surprise.

And as we expected, they used the same ass-backward reasoning they used when they opposed Initiative 100 in Denver last year, which they summed up in the sub-headline.
It's a national issue, not a state one
We can't say we blame the Post for being fooled by our opponents (the federal government) into thinking this was a national issue, when it is actually a STATE BALLOT MEASURE!

But more frustrating is the fact that this argument is a total smokescreen for the Post's decision to be a mouthpiece of the establishment rather than of the people it serves. And by establishment, we do not necessarily mean the government. After all, the Post endorsed medical marijuana (an ongoing state-versus-federal battle) and -- as we already pointed out -- consistently opposed the War on Drugs in general. That is, consistently with the exception of opposing actual efforts at reforming current drug policy.

It would seem the Post is worried what its readers -- more likely its advertisers -- might think if they actually (gasp!) did the right thing.

There's plenty more we could say about this piece of crap, but we really don't have any more time or energy to waste on people like this who would prefer to tell Americans how to live their lives rather than standing up for the American way of life.

We STRONGLY encourage you to contact the editors at the Post and let them know you are really pissed at their cowardliness, hyopocrisy and lack of intellectual and journalistic integrity.

 
Independent Study Finds Coverage of Amendment 44 Biased in Favor of Opponents

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to come to the conclusion that the coverage of Amendment 44 in the state's two major newspapers, the Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News, has been slanted toward our opponents. But it does take some solid research and real journalism to prove it.

That is just Independence Institute Research Director Dave Kopel did. And what did the conservative think tank's study find?
You can call the Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post a lot of things, but one thing you can't call them is "fair and balanced." When the Colorado establishment lines up on one side of an issue, the News and the Post go along. Consider, for example, how the Denver dailies have covered this year's marijuana initiative (Amendment 44)...

The statist/establishment bias is likewise visible, albeit to a lesser degree, in the coverage of Amendment 44, which would make marijuana possession legal for adults in Colorado, as it was until 1917. Counting news stories in the Denver dailies in the last month, I found that four stories gave significantly more space to the opponents, seven were neutral, and one favored the proponents.

When opponents staged media events, the opponents' views predominated in the coverage, but when proponent events or advocates were covered, the stories usually gave equal space to both sides.

In other words, not only are our opponents in Colorado so incompetent that they need federal law enforcment officials and national anti-drug groups to fight their battle for them. But they are also getting a taller platform to stand on and a louder microphone to speak through, despite the fact nobody came to hear them talk.

 

Federal Fuzz Behind Amendment 44 Opponents

Colorado Confidential featured a story on how the opponents of Amendment 44 are almost entirely federal law enforcement officials.

While the direct involvement of the ONDCP, DEA, RMHIDTA and others does (and has) not come as a surprise to us, their shadiness when it comes to disclosing how much of our federal tax money they're spending on it does.
But whatever the ONDCP’s plans are, there are at least no physical records on the Colorado ballot issue.

In response to a Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking information on Amendment 44 and federal involvement, the ONDCP has denied it has any records on the issue after an “extensive search.”

The folks over at popular Colorado political blog, ColoradoLib, also weighed in on just how stupid these guys are.
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Thursday, October 19, 2006 
Posted By:S.A.F.E.R.

Get this video and more at MySpace.com
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Thursday, September 28, 2006 
 DU Debate Makes Instant Headlines

It hasn't been more than a few hours, and word of the debate between SAFER Campaign Director Mason Tvert and Colorado Attorney General John Suthers has already made headlines.

At the time of this posting, the front page of the Rocky Mountain News site featured a story recapping the debate and a huge photo, and the Denver Post had just chimed in with a piece featuring a similar photo.

We will discuss the debate more in-depth tomorrow once the final stories have come out.
John Suthers just crapped his pants and Mason Tvert knows it.
3:46 AM 
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