The measure would change a city ordinance to allow people over age 21 to possess up to an ounce of marijuana in Denver, but would have no bearing on state or federal laws that criminalize marijuana use.

"It just goes to show the voters of Denver are fed up with a law that prohibits adults from making a rational, safer choice to use marijuana instead of alcohol," said Mason Tvert, executive director of Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation, the group that sponsored the ballot initiative.

Last year, Oakland, Calif., residents voted to make marijuana possession the lowest priority for local law-enforcement and called on the city to devise a plan whereby marijuana could be licensed, taxed, and sold. But voters in Telluride, Colo., defeated a similar proposal on Tuesday.

Denver police will still charge residents with marijuana possession under the state statute, according to Attorney General John Suthers, who called the ballot measure "unconstructive."

But Tvert said the next step is a statewide campaign for legalization. "This is not just symbolic," he said. "This is a fact. This city voted to change a city ordinance. We expect the city officials to respect the will of the voters who elected them."

COMMENTS ON THIS ARTICLE:

Posted by LuAnn McLain on 06 Nov 09 11:04 AM EST

A person who has smoked marijuana is no less impaired as a driver or in other judgements than someone who has been drinking. So where does this "safer alternative" come from?

Posted by Saddened on 09 Nov 09 02:39 PM EST

Do you want your child's school bus driver to use marijuana cause it's safer than alcohol?? Will it make any difference if they used a safer alternative once the bus is wrapped around a tree???

Posted by Dwayne on 13 Nov 09 07:49 AM EST

It comes from hard proof.marijuana is safer than any man made product prove me wrong I beg of you.Marijuana will be totally legal in 1 year.

Posted by Dwayne on 13 Nov 09 07:52 AM EST

Tough crowd--substance abuse professionals. They see, and many times have themselves been through, the worst drug experiences. But the truth is that marijuana is only addicting for less than 10% of the population. For 90% it's not. The truth is that the addiction potential of marijuana is about equivalent to caffeine. And how many caffeine-only addicts do you see in S.A. Rx programs? The truth is that there are fewer cases of lung cancer among marijuana smokers than there are among people who don't smoke anything. Marijuana appears to have anti-tumoral properties, among other healthful benefits. The truth is that marijuana is a safe, effective and inexpensive therapeutic agent for a wide variety of diseases, symptoms and medical conditions. This is why 25% of the U.S. have approved medical marijuana and another dozen states are considering it. The truth is that when you exaggerate the dangers and deny the benefits of marijuana, you are lying about marijuana. And that is never a good thing.

SUBMIT A COMMENT:

Submissions are held for review and approval.
Please read the guidelines before posting.

Name:
Comment: (limit 250 words)
Enter this word (help):	Change

Guidelines for comments