The initiative, which passed by a 54 percent to 46 percent margin, did not garner our endorsement since it did not in fact decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.  The state law continues in full force and effect. As we predicted, State Attorney General John Suthers and Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrisey quickly declared that they would continue to prosecute under the state law and absolutely nothing would change. 

We in general do not believe in criminalizing everyday non-harmful conduct and would likely support a statewide decriminalization, but the Denver initiative simply misled voters into thinking that they could override state law.  We, however, admit that the brain trust behind the initiative, led by 23-year-old Mason Tvert, couldn't care less about whether they were misleading Denver voters. 

The group behind I-100 goes by the acronym S.A.F.E.R. standing for Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation.  They put up yard signs all over Denver declaring:  "Make Denver Safer, Vote Yes on I-100."  The signs got Denver City Councilman Charlie Brown hot under the collar declaring the signs to be "incredibly misleading... devious... [and] deceptive" with voters thinking the initiative was about efforts to put more policemen on the streets.  SAFER also alienated domestic violence groups by putting up a controversial billboard showing a battered woman and her abuser with the slogan "Reduce family and community violence in Denver.  Vote Yes on I-100."  The group put up the billboard based on SAFER's claim that since marijuana makes people passive, if everyone switched over there would be less domestic violence, sexual assaults and DUIs. 

Most groups after winning a major victory seek to reach out to their opponents but not Mason Tvert and SAFER.  Not only did they step up the attacks on Councilman Charlie Brown but they also went after highly popular Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper.  They labeled him a hypocrite for selling alcohol in his brew-pubs while opposing their efforts to legalize marijuana.  At one demonstration a banner was held up which declared, "What is the difference between Mayor Hickenlooper and a marijuana dealer?  The mayor has made his fortune selling a more harmful drug: alcohol."

Councilman Charlie Brown and Mason Tvert hit the national cable television shows after the election and we have to say Councilman Brown appeared the far more reasonable of the two.  The rotund Tvert often came across as pompous and preening.  Brown, who once appeared on the cover of Westword in a zoot suit, is anything but a stuffed shirt.  His view that I-100's passage "was a protest vote by a lot of people who don't think the federal war on drugs is working," has considerable merit. 

If the proponents of decriminalizing marijuana hope to take a statewide election they are going to have find (sic) leaders who can attract allies rather than ones who seem to be more interested in seeing how many enemies they can garner.  After the election victory some have declared Mason Tvert a "marketing genius" but after seeing his post election efforts we wonder which side he in fact helps the most in the important debate on why should society want to criminalize the use of marijuana.