GROUP AGAINST POT INITIATIVE PLANS LECTURES

Amendment Backers Say Alcohol Is Worse

DENVER - The group opposing Amendment 44, which seeks to legalize
marijuana for recreational purposes, said Wednesday that a series of
lectures will serve as the primary weapon in the campaign.

The lectures by various experts on drugs and addiction will focus on
the dangers of marijuana and the effects on the state of legalizing
cannabis, said Calvina Fay, executive director of Save Our Society
from Drugs.

"Marijuana is much more powerful and much more addictive than it was a
generation ago," Fay said. "The change proposed in Amendment 44 has
terrible consequences for our state, particularly for our children."

Fay's group, which goes by S.O.S., is based in Florida but is helping
lead the charge against Amendment 44.

Members of the coalition include Lt. Gov. Jane Norton and Andrew
Barthwell, a Chicago-based doctor and former deputy director for the
White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

In addition to lectures, S.O.S. said it hopes to have money for radio
ads, direct mail and computerized phone calls during the campaign.

Fay said the group has raised about $40,000 so far.

Amendment 44 would make it legal for Coloradans over the age of 21 to
possess less than 1 ounce of marijuana.

The initiative is similar to a measure that was passed last year in
Denver.

It would still be illegal under federal law to possess marijuana.

In addition, it would continue to be a violation of state law to grow
or sell marijuana.

Backers of the amendment noted many of the opponents from S.O.S. hail
from outside the state.

"It appears our opponents were unable to find competent people in the
state to debate the merits of our initiative," said Mason Tvert,
campaign manager for Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation.

Known as SAFER, Tvert's organization put Amendment 44 on the ballot.
Backers say pot is less harmful than alcohol.

But S.O.S. campaigners say their anti-pot lectures will present the
other side of the argument, including statistics and research that
show marijuana is a damaging and dangerous drug.

"Research shows that recurrent or frequent use of this drug suppresses
the immune system, damages brain cells and decreases short-term
memory, attention span and motivation," Barthwell said.

Barthwell said marijuana overdoses in 2002 accounted for more trips to
hospital emergency rooms nationally than did heroin overdoses.

Norton argued that passage of Amendment 44 would make Colorado "the
pot-smoking capital of the world. Marijuana is addictive, it is
destructive and if legalized could undermine the economic viability of
our state."

Tvert countered that it's wrong to imply that marijuana would hurt the
economy when alcohol is often used to draw people to Colorado. He
noted the Great American Beer Festival will be in Denver next week.