See: Colorado University Gets Real On Pot Prosecution

A Student Referendum Makes CU More Pot-Friendly
Colorado Daily March 17, 2005 http://www.coloradodaily.com

'It's green Prozac'
By STEPHANIE OLSEN Colorado Daily Staff Writer

Stoners rejoice. Having the munchies may not carry such harsh consequences at CU-Boulder if some students have their say.

"The students are fed up with a system that penalizes them for making the safer choice," said Vanessa Cisneros, a sophomore at CU. "The potentially harmful consequences of using alcohol far exceed those of marijuana."

Cisneros supports a referendum that would change the marijuana policy on the CU campus.

A Boulder-based non-profit organization called "Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER)," a group dedicated to raising awareness about the harmful consequences of alcohol as related to marijuana, is helping the students at CU go through the process of passing the referendum.

Additionally, Cisneros wants to start a student chapter of SAFER at CU.

"The students are looking to try to do something on campus because they wanted to change penalties because they didn't think it was fair given the harm of alcohol," said Mason Tvert, the executive director of SAFER. "We are here to advise them and help them get a referendum passed that we felt would make the biggest impact."

The student referendum calls for the University to acknowledge marijuana as a comparatively safer alternative to alcohol and requests that CU treat the drug as such when giving out punishments to students, according to a press release sent to the Colorado Daily by SAFER on Wednesday.

"Given that alcohol kills people and creates a number of student problems on campus, including sexual assault, fighting, property damage, all these different issues," said Tvert, "it doesn't really make for good public policy for a university to essentially be telling students they're going to get in less trouble for something that causes more hurt."

Tvert said that the referendum has nothing to do with the criminal penalties associated with marijuana or the law.

"We're talking about what the university is worried about," said Tvert. "Should the university worry more about their policies following side-by-side with the law, which it doesn't have to, or are they more worried about producing the most safe and healthy student body possible?"

Jeff Christen-Mitchell, the president of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), a non-profit public interest advocacy group, supports a move to eliminate penalties for student use of marijuana on CU's campus.

"Colorado is a very progressive state and it would be appropriate for some sort of intelligent progress," said Christen-Mitchell. "Alcohol is a dangerous drug, while marijuana is not."

Christen-Mitchell said he views marijuana use as medicinal, especially with the high stress of education and life in general, and also as a much safer alternative to alcohol for students.

"I don't advocate or encourage use or abuse of anything by anyone, just for students it might be nicer if they had an alternative," he said.

Jessica Bralish, the director of public relations for the University of Colorado Student Union (UCSU), said if the referendum passes it will not prompt any action. Rather, it will be a statement to the administration demonstrating what the students want to see happen with marijuana policy.

"I don't know the official UCSU stance on it," said Bralish, "but from my perspective it seems like we'd be conflicting with the state's policy."

She said the referendum will send a message counter to the university's policy, but it is a blurry line because the university is a state institution.

"Let's see what the students think and then we can act accordingly," said Bralish.

Currently, CU students and SAFER are working to get the 1,000 signatures needed to get the referendum on the ballot. If successful, the referendum will be voted on during the coming spring election.

According to Bralish, 10 percent of the entire CU student population must vote in favor of the referendum to pass and be presented to the administration.

"There has never been a case of fatal marijuana overdose in history," said Cisneros. "How many more students need to drink themselves to death before our colleges turn to safer, more sensible alcohol and marijuana policies?"

For more information, contact:
SAFER P.O. Box 1852 Boulder, CO 80306-1852
(720) 275-8230
http://www.saferchoice.org/

HempPharm.com comment; Its not just 'nicer' but it is better from a public health point of view; regulated marijuana sales are the solution to healthier students and would provide these youngsters with a relatively safe alternative to the destructive and addictive alcohol and cigarettes we currently shove down their throats with the help of perfectly legal businesses through advertising and handing out 'samples' and 'promos' to kids.

And recently kids killing their grandparents and/or going into schools to settle a final score. We are afraid the immediate future holds many kids strung out on CrystalMeth, is this a sane public health policy? USA's national drug policy is creating a vicious nightmare that will catch up to us 'good citizen' when reality comes knocking.

Please read: Long Term Exposure To Cannabis

Anecdote from owner/webmaster; I once did, some time ago, a closed circuit cable TV-show in Santa Barbara, CA on Hemp and Cannabis with an tough old timer named David. This man, then, about 72 years old, told me he remembered that when he was just a 1st or 2nd grader, he remembered one of his little friends smoke pot for asthma. It was ok then, did we have any kids go wrong, then? Answer; no! But now with our chemical mess, we do! Parents beware of the truth!