Human nature should not be banned.

A national initiative is underway on college campuses to significantly reduce the penalties for marijuana use.
The Emerald Initiative, which was drafted by the nonprofit Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation, calls on college and university presidents to consider reducing penalties for marijuana use. The proposal states that marijuana use is less harmful than alcohol use, and laws and rules at colleges and universities should be indicative of this idea.

Mason Tvert is the co-founder of Safer and a University of Richmond graduate. He was busted for marijuana while he was a student and is now a traveling salesman for the idea that marijuana should be legalized and is safer than alcohol. I encourage all of you to visit his Web site, www.saferchoice.org.

(ACUHO-I: The Association of College and University Housing Officers - International)

SAFER is an organization that not only feels marijuana should be legalized, they say marijuana is safer than alcohol, as its use supposedly results in less violence and vandalism than that of alcohol. In order to accomplish their goals, SAFER (”Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation”) is taking on the massive alcohol industry and a culture that widely accepts drinking, suggesting that if people were allowed to use marijuana freely, there would be fewer of the negative consequences often associated with alcohol, such as fights, impaired driving and life-threatening intoxication.

Whether SAFER’s claims are true is up to debate. (SAFER and NORML, a pro-legalization lobby, are happy to engage with all-comers on their points of view.) In an attempt to force a discussion, SAFER has introduced the Emerald Initiative, a companion for the Amethyst Initiative. SAFER feels the push to rethink drinking age laws should be accompanied by a discussion on revisiting marijuana bans as well. They maintain that the illegality of pot drives students to alcohol consumption, and they advocate parity for alcohol and marijuana offenses on campuses.

As far as we know, no college presidents have signed on, though the Emerald Initiative has been endorsed by several campus newspapers. Likely, the Purdue University students who recently voted to loosen the pot penalties in their residence hall would agree as well.

SAFER, a non-profit organization, is urging universities across America to "go green," and it's not talking about the environment.

Safer Alternatives for Enjoyable Recreation is dedicated to supporting marijuana reform laws and argues smoking marijuana can be less harmful for students than binge drinking.

The Denver-based organization believes strict marijuana policies on college campuses are shying students away from marijuana and steering them toward alcohol. SAFER believes if marijuana policies are changed and the substance becomes more accessible, campuses may see a reduction in binge drinking, and thus less alcohol-related violence and deaths.