COUNCIL HAS NO CHOICE - POT ON THE BALLOT

Voters will decide whether to make marijuana possession Denver's
"lowest law enforcement priority" after the City Council washed its
hands of the initiative tonight with a unanimous vote to place it on
the November ballot.

Because the issue is a citizen's initiative, the council had no choice
but to send it on to voters - a point several members drove home as
they offered their harsh critiques of the initiative.

Councilwoman Carol Boigon said the effort made "a joke out of the
electoral process."

"I think it is an unserious effort - an effort aimed at street
theater, at capturing media attention, at making light of it," she
said. "Were this a serious effort, it would be at the state."

And Councilman Chris Nevitt said did not support the initiative even
though he could not find a fundamental difference between marijuana
and alcohol.

"I'm in agreement with a lot of the impulse behind this ballot
initiative," he said. "In my opinion, the war on drugs is as
misguided, wasteful and ultimately as futile and enterprize as the war
in Iraq. Unfortunately, I am extremely disappointed that this
particular ballot initiative appears to do so little of any actual
substance."

The comments followed weeks of wrestling over what to do with an
initiative brought by marijuana advocate Mason Tvert and his group
Citizens for a Safer Denver.

Tvert said his mission is to get city officials to "enforce the laws
of this city."

But assistant city attorney David Broadwell said the current
initiative would have little or no effect on how the police and
prosecutors pursue possession.

The debate and surrounding publicity has repeatedly put city officials
in politically awkward positions. Monday was no different, as four
City Council members and Mayor John Hickenlooper admitted (or didn't
deny) in the Denver Daily News that they had smoked marijuana.

Monday's vote means this will be the third straight year Tvert has
successfully placed a marijuana initiative before Denver voters.

A 2005 city initiative successfully repealed a Denver law against
possession, but a similar statewide initiative failed last year.

Denver authorities currently enforce the state rules outlawing
possession of marijuana.

Bryan Vicente, an attorney with Citizens for a Safer Denver, told
council members that tickets for misdemeanor possession of marijuana
actually increased by 15 percent in the year after resident voted to
repeal the city the possession law.

"I would just ask the council and members of the public to consider
whether busting adults for personal possession of marijuana is the
best use of resources," Vicente said.

And City Council members pointed out that after collecting the
necessary signatures for the initiative, Tvert last week offered to
pull the issue if the council met a list of demands.

"You sold out your people," Council President Michael Hancock said.
"There are some real shenanigans going on here."

Tvert said after the meeting that despite "personal attacks" by
council members "I've been committed to this initiative."