SAFERchoice Denver - Press Articles

Rocky Mountain News
10/28/05

Pot backers protest Hick
By Alan Gathrigh

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Pro-pot forces, fuming that the staff of Denver's brewpub-owning mayor laughed off their debate challenge with a munchies joke, protested at City Hall today with props including a mock "alcohol poisoning" corpse surrounded by jugs from the mayor's Wynkoop Brewery and a pile of Oreos and Doritos bags.

"It simply shows that the mayor does not mind that his drug of choice that he sells to this city can lead to death and violence and the drug that he opposes simply leads to — as they put it — the worst case scenario is the munchies," said Mason Tvert, head of the group sponsoring Initiative 100 on Tuesday's ballot.

If passed, the ballot measure would change Denver law to make it legal for adults to posses 1 ounce or less of marijuana.

The major theme of the Alcohol-Marijuana Equalization Initiative is that adults should have the legal right to choose marijuana, which proponents call a safer alternative to booze, blaming that legal drug for fueling deadly violence, car wrecks, collegiate binge-drinking and alcoholism.

Supporters also posted a second Denver billboard today, at Santa Fe Drive and Alameda Avenue, stating: "Annual Deaths. Alcohol: 19,928. Marijuana: 0. Plain. Honest. Fact. Vote Yes on I-100."

Tvert said the fatality figures are "conservatively" based on national statistics for liver disease and alcohol overdoses.

Mayor John Hickenlooper hasn't actively campaigned against the measure, but he's said that he opposes legalizing marijuana because it's a "gateway drug" that can lead to destructive addictions.

I-100 backers were infuriated when the mayor's spokeswoman responded to a protest Wednesday at City Hall by saying Hickenlooper was "focused on issues that actually matter to Denver," adding that the measure would have no impact because pot possession cases will continue to be prosecuted under state law.

The mayor's acting chief of state, Cole Finegan, was quoted in the Denver Post joking about whether to "orchestrate a shipment of Oreos and Doritos" to pot protestors.

The mayor's spokeswoman, Lindy Eichenbaum Lent, said today: "If this handful of folks is genuinely concerned about the dangers of alcohol, they should spend their time trying to bring back Prohibition. No matter how creative they get, state law will still make marijuana illegal in Denver regardless of the initiative's outcome."
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	Rocky Mountain News 10/28/05 Pot backers protest Hick By Alan Gathrigh (Return to Press Section) Pro-pot forces, fuming that the staff of Denver's brewpub-owning mayor laughed off their debate challenge with a munchies joke, protested at City Hall today with props including a mock "alcohol poisoning" corpse surrounded by jugs from the mayor's Wynkoop Brewery and a pile of Oreos and Doritos bags. "It simply shows that the mayor does not mind that his drug of choice that he sells to this city can lead to death and violence and the drug that he opposes simply leads to — as they put it — the worst case scenario is the munchies," said Mason Tvert, head of the group sponsoring Initiative 100 on Tuesday's ballot. If passed, the ballot measure would change Denver law to make it legal for adults to posses 1 ounce or less of marijuana. The major theme of the Alcohol-Marijuana Equalization Initiative is that adults should have the legal right to choose marijuana, which proponents call a safer alternative to booze, blaming that legal drug for fueling deadly violence, car wrecks, collegiate binge-drinking and alcoholism. Supporters also posted a second Denver billboard today, at Santa Fe Drive and Alameda Avenue, stating: "Annual Deaths. Alcohol: 19,928. Marijuana: 0. Plain. Honest. Fact. Vote Yes on I-100." Tvert said the fatality figures are "conservatively" based on national statistics for liver disease and alcohol overdoses. Mayor John Hickenlooper hasn't actively campaigned against the measure, but he's said that he opposes legalizing marijuana because it's a "gateway drug" that can lead to destructive addictions. I-100 backers were infuriated when the mayor's spokeswoman responded to a protest Wednesday at City Hall by saying Hickenlooper was "focused on issues that actually matter to Denver," adding that the measure would have no impact because pot possession cases will continue to be prosecuted under state law. The mayor's acting chief of state, Cole Finegan, was quoted in the Denver Post joking about whether to "orchestrate a shipment of Oreos and Doritos" to pot protestors. The mayor's spokeswoman, Lindy Eichenbaum Lent, said today: "If this handful of folks is genuinely concerned about the dangers of alcohol, they should spend their time trying to bring back Prohibition. No matter how creative they get, state law will still make marijuana illegal in Denver regardless of the initiative's outcome." (Return to Press Section)