DENVER VOTERS TO SETTLE POT-LAW DISPUTE

The City Council Backs Off a Proposal to Pass an
Anti-Marijuana-Enforcement Ordinance That Members Hoped Would Bring a
Court Ruling Against It.

The Denver City Council on Monday backed off from intervening in a
ballot initiative that would make possession of a small amount of
marijuana the lowest priority for police.

The council had considered passing the measure as an ordinance in
hopes that the courts would quickly throw it out. Instead, council
members unanimously opted to let voters decide in November.

"I don't think any of us wants to subvert the will of the voters,"
said council member Doug Linkhart. "I don't think it's the role of
the city to tell police which laws to enforce."

The council will hold a public hearing on the measure at its meeting
at 5:15 p.m. next Monday.

Proponents of the initiative say they will have a bevy of supporters
there to counter what they expect to be a heavy anti-pot campaign by
council members.

"There's no reason this city cannot stop arresting and prosecuting
people for possession of marijuana," said Mason Tvert, executive
director of Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation.

Tvert pointed out that since Denver voters in 2005 legalized
possession of small amounts of pot, that city officials and police
have avoided changing enforcement. Arrests for marijuana possession
increased in Denver by 15 percent after voters passed the measure, he said.

"I'm certainly glad voters will have their say, even though they
already had their say," Tvert said.

Tvert hopes to bring witnesses to testify at next week's hearing
about their lives being disrupted because of what he deems to be
overzealous enforcement.

Council members immediately started making their positions known.

Council President Michael Hancock, prior to voting, said he believes
marijuana is a gateway drug to heavier drugs and helps destroy
communities. He urged anyone in support of the measure to spend time
with children of drug-addicted parents before deciding the issue.

"It is my hope that the public does not enter into the realm of
telling the Police Department how to do their jobs," Hancock said.

Marijuana proponents last year tried to repeal the state possession
law, but Colorado voters rejected it.

The measure to make enforcement of possession the lowest priority was
started when the group Citizens for a Safer Denver gathered almost
6,000 valid signatures for an initiative.

The council was placed in the predicament of either approving an
identical ordinance that could be challenged in the courts or letting
voters decide.

District Attorney Mitch Morrissey, who in the past asked the council
to consider refusing to put it on the ballot and letting Citizens for
a Safer Denver take the issue to court, did not attend Monday's meeting.