Without presenting any evidence or demonstrating any public support, the Lafayette (CO) City Council has given initial approval to a new municipal ordinance that would drastically increase the penalty for private adult possession of a small amount of marijuana. Despite current state law that calls for such violations to be punishable by a maximum $100 fine and no time in jail, the new ordinance mandates up to a $1,000 fine and up to one year in jail.  Needless to say, SAFER is taking this head on.

Below you can find out more about this bad ordinance and how you can take action to help us defeat it! 

You can read this story for the council's reason for initially approving this measure (a judge wanted the ability to punish marijuana users more) and where it came from (the chief of police was more than willing to jump on board and introduce it). 

The measure is contrary to the will of the voters in Boulder County, a clear majority of which approved Amendment 44, the initiative to remove all penalties for possession of up to one ounce of marijuana.

Among the Boulder County residents opposed to the measure is former Lafayette Municipal Court Judge Leonard Frieling, who according to press sources resigned his position in protest of the proposed ordinance. This led to a swarm of media coverage of this misguided measure, alerting Coloradans around the state of this ridiculous effort to stiffen penalties against adults who make the safer choice to use marijuana instead of alcohol. One station ran a story reporting that Mr. Frieling no longer worked for Lafayette as a judge, which was apparently news to him.

It was also news to Pam Spring, the city's director of human relations, who told press members that Frieling was still had "active" employee status at the time of this whole debacle. Regardless, the city hired the guy at some point because they trusted his judgment -- now he is saying that in his opinion this law is INSANE! Here is a great news clip about his opposition to the measure.

SAFER is organizing opposition to the measure and will be holding a press conference next Tuesday, Feb. 20, prior to the Lafayette City Council's final hearing on the matter. More news and details on this event will follow.

Please take a minute and contact the members of the Lafayette City Council to voice your opposition to this measure. Be sure to let them know if you are a citizen of Lafayette or Boulder County. The only member who voted against this measure was Mayor Pro Tem David Strungis, who voiced concern that the punishment would not fit the crime, so be sure to thank him for speaking out on this matter. 

Mayor Chris Berry                              303-666-1246            This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it