POT ISSUE'S FATE AT POLLS HAZY

As Officials Debate the Merits and Dangers of Marijuana, a Poll Shows
a Third of Voters Last Month As Undecided on Amendment 44.

If Amendment 44 passes Nov. 7, Colorado could become the first state
where voters have approved marijuana for recreational use.

Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation launched the campaign to
legalize pot after a successful initiative in Denver last year.

"Law enforcement should not have to worry about a person smoking a
joint in their own house," said Mason Tvert, SAFER's campaign director.

But not everyone agrees with Tvert and his group, who promote
marijuana as a healthier and safer alternative to alcohol use.

"Going out on a Saturday night to go buy marijuana is a dangerous
affair," said Denver Police Chief Gerry Whitman, who opposes the
amendment, along with most law enforcement agencies. "There are 400
chemicals in marijuana, and some of that marijuana is laced with
other drugs, and you don't know what you're inhaling into the lungs.
Common sense tells you that this is not a healthy initiative."

Opponents and supporters point to a 9News-sponsored poll from Sept.
28 that shows 29 percent of voters approve of the initiative while 36
percent would vote no. Thirty-five percent indicated they were undecided.

Sandy Mullins, a 32-year-old Lafayette mother and director of program
development for a legal advocacy center, will vote yes.

She doesn't believe kids are being told the truth about the effects
of marijuana and alcohol and was disturbed when she heard her child's
11-year-old friend say alcohol wasn't as bad as marijuana because it's legal.

"I want to set a good example so they can make honest choices and
have honest information," she said.

While Mullins is against teenagers using marijuana, she feels that
adults shouldn't be penalized.

"I know people who live extremely productive lives - university
professors to business professionals and attorneys - the use is so
prevalent," she said. "It's just the legality of it. It's been misrepresented."

If it passes, Amendment 44 would make it legal for anyone 21 or older
in Colorado to possess 1 ounce or less of marijuana.

Home-rule cities could enact municipal codes that prohibit marijuana
possession, trumping the state law.

Federal law would still make marijuana possession illegal, but in a
practical sense, "the state will be a free-drug zone in terms of
marijuana," said Robert McGuire, campaign coordinator of Save Our
Society From Drugs, which opposes the amendment.

"You won't see the FBI out in the park busting people," he said.

But even if the amendment passes, it will still be illegal for people
to walk around in public smoking joints, Tvert pointed out. Users
could carry up to an ounce of marijuana, but they would have to smoke
it in private or face a misdemeanor charge of public use and display.

Robert Corry, a civil-rights attorney who litigates marijuana cases,
said police officers should not waste time on pot users and the
amendment would help.

If it becomes law, police won't be able to use the scent of marijuana
or the presence of a joint as probable cause to search someone, he said.

"It gets the government out of our private lives and out of our
business," he said. "That is going to save the government a lot of
resources and the courts a lot of resources."

Recreational selling and growing aren't addressed in the amendment.

Colorado voters approved the use of medicinal marijuana six years
ago; that wouldn't be changed if Amendment 44 passes.

Tvert said the legislature should come up with ways to regulate
marijuana, which would make it safer to buy.

Nevada will vote next month on whether adults can have up to an ounce
of pot, which they could purchase at government-controlled marijuana shops.

And it's legal to possess small amounts of marijuana in Alaska, but
the Alaskan Supreme Court - not voters - set that law.

McGuire points to a 1988 University of Alaska study that says that
state's 12- to 17-year-olds used marijuana at more than twice the
national average for their age group.

Anti-drug groups worry that Amendment 44 could increase use among
teens in Colorado.

"People think it's a benign drug, but it's addictive," McGuire said.

But Tvert said alcohol has caused injuries, date rapes and deaths due
to overdose.

He also cited research from the National Institute on Drug Abuse that
shows alcohol is more addictive and intoxicating than marijuana.

Adults who provide marijuana to children younger than 18 would face a
felony charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, but an
adult could pass marijuana to minors ages 18 to 20 without consequences.

"They will be able to give free samples to 18-year-olds," McGuire said.

But Tvert countered there won't be any more teen users of marijuana
than there are right now.

Marijuana is a public-health issue and should be illegal, said Bruce
Mendelson, director of the Office of Drug Strategy of Denver Human Services.

Today's marijuana is more potent than it was in the 1960s and '70s,
and the drug adversely affects the brain, lungs and mental health -
specifically in teens, he said.

"Public health is all of our business, and we are concerned,
especially when it comes to our young people," Mendelson said.
"Amendment 44 is sending the wrong message that there is no risk involved."