Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER) is a non-profit organization based in Denver, Colorado. SAFER began in January 2005 in response to the fatal student alcohol overdoses that occurred on Colorado college campuses during the 2004-2005 school years.
SAFER envisions a society in which the private adult possession and use of marijuana is treated in the same or similar manner as the private adult possession and use of alcohol. Thus, SAFER's mission is to educate the public about the harms of alcohol compared to the much safer, yet illegal drug: marijuana.
New statewide effort in the works
SAFER will soon be announcing details of a new statewide push to work with activists, organizations, and elected officials around Colorado toward reforms in local and state marijuana laws.
The long term project will entail efforts to change local laws, increase support for reform around the state, build a broader coalition in favor of reform, and continue educating the public about the need for change in marijuana laws and policies.
This will be a massive endeavor that could lead to Colorado becoming the first state to opt out of marijuana prohibition. Please stay tuned and in touch to hear more about this project and how you can get involved.
Denver: Ground Zero
All eye's on Mile HIgh City as reform moves forward
Denver voters approved Initiated Question 100 in Nov. 2007, making private adult possession of small amounts of marijuana the city's lowest law enforcement priority.
The measure also established the Denver Marijuana Policy Review Panel, which is charged with implementing the law to the greatest extent possible. The panel has only met twice, but it has already proposed a major policy recommendation that will be up for a vote at its next meeting May 28th.
The proposed recommendation directs the Denver CIty Attorney's Office to stop prosecuting cases of simple adult possession unless ther is a compelling resaon to do so. The recommendation comes on the heels of news that Denver prosecutors and police have completely defied the will of the voters and taken no action to change the way they handle adult marijuana use.
In August, just as the Democratic National Convention is arriving in town, Denver officials will have to report the numbers of arrests and prosecutions so far in 2008. It is hoped the press will take notice and foster discussion of the marijuana issue in light of Denver being at its forefront!
More Colleges adopt SAFER measures
SAFER got its start organizing on college campuses and speaking out against university policies that punish students more for marijuana use than for alcohol use.
Since then, we have helped students at schools around the country introduce and campaign for SAFER referendums and resolutions that demonstrate the students' opinion that marijuana is safer than alcohol and colleges should treat it that way.
This month Ohio State became the latest school to adopt a SAFER referendum (April 21- 60-40). The College of DuPage, just outside of Chicago, with about 29,000 students also passed a referendum this month (67-33) making it the first community college to consider a SAFER measure.
Students at the University of Central Florida also adopted a SAFER referendum this year. UCF is located in Orlando and has more than 40,000 undergraduate students. SAFER worked closely with the UCF chapter of NORML on the measure, which received 57 percent of the vote, along with endorsements from the campus newspaper and the incoming student president. The referendum resulted in the creation of a university task force consisting of student leaders and administrators, which will be creating new guidelines for campus punishments for campus marijuana punishments.
Students have adopted SAFER measures at:
2005 - Colorado State University, University of Colorado - Boulder
2006 - Florida State University, University of Maryland, University of Texas-Austin
2007 - College of William and Mary, George Washington University, University of Washington
2008 - Ohio State, College of DuPage, University of Central Florida
Beginning January 1, 2006, SAFER officially became a national organization and has begun establishing chapters at colleges and universities outside Colorado and in cities around the country.
Please contact SAFER if you are interested in beginning a SAFER chapter on your campus or in your city, or if you are already part of an organization that is interested in running a SAFER campaign.
SAFER does not encourage the use of marijuana. Rather, it encourages the development and enactment of laws and public policies that recognize the simple, indisputable fact that marijuana is less harmful both to the user and society than alcohol. In other words, SAFER's efforts are not intended to "add another vice," but rather to provide a safer alternative to the most prevalent and more harmful vice. It is time our laws stop encouraging the use of alcohol and allow adults to make the rational, safer choice to use marijuana.