Congratulations are in order for reporter Joe Hanel of the Durango Herald, who received honors for his coverage of Amendment 44. 

One of Mr. Hanel's stories on Amendment 44 took home second place in the legal affairs category of the  Society of Professional Journalists' Best of Colorado Excellence in Journalism contest. The story -- which carried the headline, "Marijuana proponent stumps for 44" -- was focused on the "Drug Duel" during the Amendment 44 campaign, at which time SAFER Executive Director Mason Tvert offered to go "hit for chug" with Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and Coors Cartel leader Pete Coors.

The article contained the classic line about Colorado Attorney General John Suthers being a wine-cooler-drinking nanny, which was highlighted in the on-line version . Classic...

In its annual "Best of Denver" issue, Westword gave a hat-tip to SAFER's efforts to make marijuana legal in Colorado.

Best New State Grass: The legal kind

The legislature adopted blue grama grass as the official state grass in 1987, but even though it's native to Colorado, this state has no business endorsing any ground cover. Besides, as Mason Tvert continues his campaign to get the possession of marijuana legalized in Colorado, our state's residents may one day adopt a new kind of grass.

Alcohol use led to serious harm for students at colleges in California and in New Jersey this week.

 
At the University of California-Merced, an 18-year-old student drunkenly stumbled to his death around dawn. According to police who investigated the death:

"The bottom line here is this was an alcohol-related accident."

 
At Rider University in New Jersey, an 18-year-old student was hospitalized following a very serious case of alcohol poisoning that stemmed from an alcohol-fueled frat party. 

In both of these cases, the students who were directly affected by alcohol were freshman. Given they were underage, using alcohol was just as illegal for them as using marijuana. Yet they were told they would face harsher penalties for marijuana than for alcohol.

So, can anyone explain why universities continue telling students "drink responsibly" instead of "party responsibly"?