TASK FORCE, COPS CRITICIZE POT AMENDMENT

MONTROSE -- Area law enforcement agencies have banded together to
oppose Amendment 44.

In an open letter, representatives from 16 agencies in the 7th
Judicial District urged a no vote on the ballot measure, which would
legalize adult possession of less than 1 ounce of marijuana. The
officials contend the amendment is poorly drafted because it does not
specify that adults 21 and older cannot legally pass the drug to
minors. And, they dispute proponents' arguments that marijuana is
safer than alcohol, a legal drug.

"They're trying to compare marijuana to alcohol when that's not even a
valid argument," Delta/Montrose Drug Task Force Agent Jack Haynes
said. Haynes drafted the letter, which the heads of several
law-enforcement agencies then signed.

"The whole issue is absurd. This is a measure by a small group of
people that they're trying to get passed to benefit
themselves."

Mason Tvert of SAFER Colorado, a group that supports 44, lambasted the
agencies' campaign against the measure.

"It's unfortunate our government is expending so much resources
fighting something that the people have every right to decide," he
said.

He said his support of the amendment did not mean he wanted to light
up a joint himself. "That's like saying anyone who's pro choice wants
to have an abortion," Tvert said.

Haynes said passing the amendment would send the wrong message. "If we
send the message that it's OK, then what's to stop people from saying
'If marijuana's OK, what about a little cocaine?' It is the wrong
message. It's a terrible amendment and a terrible idea."

Marijuana can impair short-term memory, attention, motor skills,
reaction time and the organization of complex information. It is an
intoxicant and people can become addicted.

Olathe Police Chief Ric Hawk, also a signatory on the letter, said
marijuana leads to the abuse of harder drugs.

"Most people that end up on the hard drugs start out on marijuana and
then graduate. I think you'll see a huge (amount of) contact between
law enforcement and the public that you don't see now," he said.

"I also think it would be easier for the kids to get. I don't think we
should make it easier for anyone."

Tvert doesn't buy the "gateway drug" argument and said keeping
possession illegal creates a black market for marijuana, much as
Prohibition had for alcohol in the early 1900s. It would be better to
regulate pot than to criminalize small quantities, he said. "It's
legal to sit in your house and drink whiskey, but not to produce it
unregulated."

He alleged law enforcement has a vested interest in keeping pot
possession illegal. "The only people truly addicted to marijuana in
this country are law enforcement like these guys. They're protecting
their bottom line."

Jeffrey Sweetin of the Drug Enforcement Administration's Rocky
Mountain division previously called such contentions "a ludicrous argument."

Haynes said the passage of 44 would impair the task force's ability to
enforce other drug laws. While possession of less than an ounce of
marijuana is a petty offense, punishable by a $100 fine, it can form
the basis for search warrants that yield vast quantities of pot and
other drugs -- leading to the arrests of potential felons.

"It's a terrible proposal in terms of drug enforcement," Haynes said.
"In obtaining a warrant, you find other drugs. Would that be out the
window? I think that would have some very bad ramifications."

Tvert said the task force's job was to enforce the laws, not make
them. "I think the drug task force was put together to fight illegal
drugs like meth, heroin and other very dangerous drugs, and not to
maintain $100-fines on drugs that are arbitrarily considered illegal."

He said the amendment would not change other laws pertaining to
marijuana. "The only difference we're going to see is if you're over
21, you're not going to get a $100-ticket (for possession of less than
1 ounce). If people are growing, selling, or giving marijuana to
minors or driving under the influence, there's not going to be any
difference."

Though Tvert said marijuana is readily available from sources not
connected to the criminal underworld, Haynes believes making simple
possession legal will encourage the drug cartels responsible for
methamphetamine, cocaine and other hard drugs.

"An ounce of marijuana is not going to magically appear," he said.
"Somebody's got to violate the law, because you can't grow marijuana.
.At a time when we're trying to figure out how to deal with the meth
epidemic and all the things it costs, we want to take a step back and
legalize marijuana? That makes absolutely no sense to me."