SPRINGS NEWSPAPER ENDORSES POT AMENDMENT

The "Colorado Springs Gazette" today endorsed Amendment 44, which
would legalize possession of small amounts of marijuana.

"We encourage freedom lovers to vote yes on Amendment 44," the
newspaper said on its editorial page. "The long journey toward a more
rational and workable national drug control policy begins with a
single step."

If the amendment passes, Colorado would become the first state to
legalize marijuana. Federal law still bars possession of marijuana,
and the nation's drug czar came to Colorado to campaign against the
amendment.

The newspaper said the federal drug warriors worry that Colorado's
passage would start a flood of legalizations across the country.

Amendment 44 applies only to adults and limits possession to less than
an ounce of marijuana. Colorado law would still make it illegal for
minors to possess any quantity of the substance.

"A blanket prohibition on the use of certain drugs clearly isn't
working," the editorial said. "We have long been on record as
questioning the reasons behind and conduct of the so-called war on
drugs, an effort that's responsible for thousands of deaths, prison
overcrowding and untold misery for a lot of people in a number of
countries."