A PUSH FOR MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION

Is Medical Marijuana a Backdoor Attempt to Legalize Marijuana?

The medical marijuana movement is "absolutely" a backdoor attempt to
legalize marijuana, according Michael Lerner, the organizer of the
Colorado Cannabis Convention that's going on in Denver this weekend.

Lerner believes the current medical marijuana movement is nearly
identical to the second phase of prohibition in which some people
feigned ailments to get a doctor's recommendation to drink booze. In
1929, there were 60,000 reported cases of snakebites N' one of the
ailments that doctors could recommend alcohol for. After alcohol
became legal again in 1933, the number of reported snakebites declined
dramatically, which Lerner doesn't see as a coincidence. "Remember the
guy who claimed they had a snake bite in 1929 to be able to drink
alcohol, a few years later was able to walk down the street and
purchase (alcohol)?" he said. "That's where we're at."

Lerner, who also runs KUSH Magazine and DailyBuds.com, has sunk
$400,000 of his own money into the Colorado Cannabis Convention. The
event is being touted as the largest cannabis convention in the
history of the United States, and will boast more than 300 booths
featuring everything from holistic healing to glass blowing. The
two-day event will also feature a town hall meeting with elected
officials from the city, state, and federal level.

Lerner sees the Colorado Cannabis Convention as a step towards the
widespread acceptance of marijuana. He pointed out that such a large
marijuana event would have been unheard of only three years ago and is
positioning the convention as a family friendly affair that will
hopefully win over skeptics. No actual marijuana is allowed at the
convention.

"I am thrilled to be able to bring the largest cannabis convention in
history to Denver N' a convention that shows the incredible
professionalism that this industry is experiencing in a city that is
showing how cannabis can help both people and business," he said in a
statement.

Lerner expects California voters to legalize marijuana this November.
He expects Colorado voters to follow California's lead shortly thereafter.

Ballot initiative

Mason Tvert, leader of the group Safer Alternative For Enjoyable
Recreation (SAFER), has introduced a ballot initiative that would
legalize marijuana in Colorado. He joined college activists at the
Auraria Campus yesterday to promote the "Emerald Initiative," a
measure calling on college presidents and chancellors to support
"informed and dispassionate public debate" on whether allowing
students to use marijuana more freely could reduce dangerous drinking
on and around college campuses.

The Emerald Initiative is SAFER's response to the Amethyst Initiative,
a statement endorsed by more than 130 college presidents and
chancellors calling for discussion on whether lowering the legal
drinking age to 18 would reduce levels of student drinking and the
serious problems it can bring.

"Universities nationwide are trying everything from encouraging
students to drink responsibly, promoting 'social norms drinking,' and
even, in some cases, proposing a lowering of the drinking age in order
to curb dangerous student alcohol use," said Tvert. "Some may scoff at
the Emerald Initiative, but it's no less viable a plan and this is
literally a matter of life and death."

Auraria student Travis Fortson didn't support Tvert's premise that
marijuana and alcohol are mutually exclusive. He doesn't believe that
decriminalizing marijuana would lead to a decline in alcohol
consumption, and couldn't imagine a big college party where people
were only smoking marijuana and not drinking alcohol.

"(Marijuana's) something you just do hanging out and playing video
games, you know. Can that really constitute as a party?" he said.

But fellow Auraria student Tom Green said he thinks the negative
effects of alcohol would decrease were marijuana to be legalized.

"If people smoked on campus rather than drank on campus, there would
be a lot less violence going on," he said. "Alcohol, from personal
experiences and what I've seen, has just brought violence into
peoples' lives."

Yesterday's rally on the Auraria campus was one of 80 similar events
held on colleges and universities throughout the country aimed at
urging universities to reduce penalties for marijuana use. April 1
marks the first day of National Alcohol Awareness Month.