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SAFER supports Ricky Williams's SAFER choice |
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Written by SAFER
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Tuesday, 02 October 2007 |
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The group that made Denver the first U.S. city to remove all legal penalties for simple adult marijuana possession is encouraging NFL superstar Ricky Williams, who has been repeatedly penalized by the league for his marijuana use, to come to the Mile High City and join the Denver Broncos.
Williams filed for NFL reinstatement yesterday after serving an 18-month suspension. He is now awaiting approval to re-enter the league and seeking a team to join for the remainder of the season.
SAFER put up the billboard directly across the street from Invesco Field at Mile High. Yet even before it went up, it generated a whole lot of media attention, including this story in the Denver Post, this story in the Rocky Mountain News, and this story on Matt Mosley's "Hashmarks" blog at ESPN.com. Since then, it has really become the talk of the nation with an AP story appearing in newspapers nationwide and coverage on CNN, MSNBC, and ESPN, as well as on several sports-related blogs, such as RealFootball365.com.
SAFER was behind the ballot initiative in 2005, and campaigned on the
fact that marijuana is far less harmful than alcohol to both the user
and to society. A majority of Denver voters agreed and adopted the
measure so that adults could legally make the safer choice to use
marijuana, if that is what they prefer.
Every objective study on adult marijuana use has concluded that it
poses far less potential harm than alcohol use. The U.S. Centers for
Disease Control (CDC) report that alcohol use contributes to tens of
thousands of American deaths each year, whereas there are no
marijuana-induced deaths, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse
(NIDA) has found that marijuana is far less addictive than alcohol and
tobacco. Studies also show that alcohol is a contributing factor in
countless cases of domestic violence, sexual assault, date rape, and
other violent crimes, whereas marijuana has never been linked to such
violent or aggressive behavior (it has actually been found to inhibit
it).
"The National Football League's marijuana policy is just as irrational
as our federal government's marijuana policy," said SAFER Executive
Director Mason Tvert. "In both cases, authorities are steering adults
toward using alcohol and punishing them for making the safer choice to
use marijuana instead. If Roger Goodell and every NFL player over 21
can go home after a game and have a drink, there is no reason why Ricky
Williams should not be allowed to go home and use a less harmful drug.
"Why on earth would the NFL steer some of the biggest, strongest, and
toughest men in America away from marijuana and toward a drug that
contributes to violent and aggressive behavior?" Tvert said. "In
Denver, the people support Ricky Williams's safer choice, and we would
be delighted to see him come play for the Broncos."
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