COLO. PRO-POT ADS TARGET BUSH, CHENEY

DENVER - A group that claims marijuana use is safer than drinking ran
newspaper ads Saturday mentioning allegations that President Bush
once drunkenly challenged his father to fight and Vice President Dick
Cheney's accidental shooting of a friend after drinking.

SAFER Colorado, which put a measure on the Colorado ballot to
legalize possession of marijuana, placed an ad in a newspaper in
Greeley, where Bush made an appearance on Saturday.

The ad in the Greeley Tribune had a photo of Bush accompanied by text
that read: "In 1972, this man tried to fight his dad when he was
drunk. Just one more reason to vote 'Yes on 44.'" The ad was
referring to published reports that in 1972, a 26-year-old Bush had
come home drunk and challenged his father to a fight. The matter was
reportedly settled without violence.

The group ran the Cheney ad in The Gazette of Colorado Springs, a day
after he spoke to troops at the nearby Fort Carson Army post and
attended a campaign rally. The ad said, "Shot his friend in the face
after drinking. Just one more reason to vote 'Yes on 44.'"

Cheney accidentally shot and wounded a friend while hunting in Texas
in February. The vice president said he had one beer several hours
before the shooting.

"They were both in town ... and we are simply taking this opportunity
to draw attention to the fact that alcohol contributes to far more
problems than marijuana," said Mason Tvert, the group's campaign director.

White House spokesman Tony Snow, asked for comment aboard Air Force
One as Bush headed to Texas after the rally, dismissed the ads as
"kind of snarky and juvenile."

"I'm not sure they did their cause much good," he said.

Referendum 44, which is on Tuesday's ballot, would allow adults to
carry up to an ounce of marijuana, similar to an ordinance Denver
voters approved last year. No other state allows pot possession for
anything other than medical use. Federal law also prohibits possession.

A recent poll of 625 registered voters by Mason-Dixon Polling &
Research found 34 percent of voters supported the measure, while 57
percent opposed it. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4
percentage points.

Associated Press writer Nedra Pickler contributed to this report.