Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER) is a non-profit organization based in Denver, Colorado. SAFER began in January 2005 in response to the fatal student alcohol overdoses that occurred on Colorado college campuses during the 2004-2005 school years.
SAFER envisions a society in which the private adult possession and use of marijuana is treated in the same or similar manner as the private adult possession and use of alcohol. Thus, SAFER’s mission is to educate the public about the harms of alcohol compared to the much safer—yet illegal—drug: marijuana.
In order to accomplish this mission, SAFER has embarked on various campaigns, including:
1. Student-initiated referendums at the two largest colleges in Colorado: the University of Colorado-Boulder and the Colorado State University.
SAFER helped CU and CSU students introduce and pass referendums demonstrating their collective opinions that university sanctions for student marijuana use and possession should not exceed university sanctions for student alcohol use and possession. CU and CSU students voted 68-32 and 56-44 in favor of the referendums, respectively.
2. A citizen-initiated local ballot initiative campaign in Colorado’s capital: Denver.
SAFER introduced the Denver Alcohol-Marijuana Equalization Initiative (Initiative 100) in May 2005, and it was approved by Denver voters in the November election. I-100 amended Denver city ordinances to make the private use and possession of one ounce or less of marijuana legal for adults 21 and older. In order to place the initiative on the ballot, SAFER coordinated the collection of more than 12,900 signatures, which is more than 10 percent of Denver’s voting population and double the 5 percent required.
City officials and police swore they would defy the will of the voters and needlessly continue to cite Denver citizens under state law, and they lived up to their word. Among those cited following the passage of I-100 was Eric Footer, a 39-year old real estate professional who decided to challenge the citation with the help of SAFER (as well as SAFER ally Sensible Colorado). The Denver City Attorney's Office dropped all of the charges against Footer at his January 2006 arraignment.
3. A citizen-initiated
state ballot initiative campaign in Colorado.
SAFER introduced the Colorado Alcohol-Marijuana Equalization Initiative
in December 2005. If approved by Colorado voters in November 2006, the
initiative will amend state statutes to make the private use and possession
of one ounce or less of marijuana legal for adults 21 and older. All
home-rule cities and towns (which account for about 90 percent of the
state's population) in Colorado will retain the right to enact and/or
enforce their own policies and laws pertaining to private adult marijuana
use if they wish to continue punishing people for choosing to use something
less harmful than alcohol. More importantly, those cities and towns
that wish to remove penalties for private adult marijuana use and possession
(like Denver) will be able to do so without state interference. SAFER
is currently in the process of getting the initiative language approved
by Denver officials, and the signature drive will likely begin in February
2006.
Please visit www.safercolorado.org to work on or donate to the Colorado campaign, or simply to learn more about the initiative.
4. Establishment of SAFER chapters on campuses and in cities around the nation.
Beginning January 1, 2006, SAFER officially became a national organization and has begun establishing chapters at colleges and universities outside Colorado and in cities around the country.
Please contact SAFER if you are interested in beginning a SAFER chapter on your campus or in your city, or if you are already part of an organization that is interested in running a SAFER campaign.
SAFER does not encourage the use of marijuana. Rather, it encourages the development and enactment of laws and public policies that recognize the simple, indisputable fact that marijuana is less harmful—both to the user and society—than alcohol. In other words, SAFER’s efforts are not intended to "add another vice," but rather to provide a safer alternative to the most prevalent and more harmful vice. It is time our laws stop encouraging the use of alcohol and allow adults to make the rational, safer choice to use marijuana.
