CO: CSU Students Promoting Referendum on Marijuana

[IndianaToker]

By Nikolaus Olsen
Source: Coloradoan

Colorado -- A whiff of marijuana reform is wafting through Colorado State University's main campus this week. A small group of students wants university administrators to adopt a notion that marijuana is safer to use than alcohol. Three CSU students with the support of a Boulder-based group are gathering signatures from 10 percent of full-time students to put a student-initiated referendum on the ballot for April's student elections.

"It's a safer choice all around," said freshman Zana Buttermore-Baca, one of three students sponsoring the initiative.

Buttermore-Baca and other volunteers have until Monday to collect the needed signatures.

Organizers said they had more than 500 of the 2,084 required signatures needed as of Wednesday.

The base of the students' argument is that while up to 1,400 college students die from alcohol poisoning each year, according to a National Institutes of Health study, there has never been a reported death caused by an overdose of marijuana, Buttermore-Baca said.

Advocating any sort of drug use over another is a dicey position for CSU.

"We are a public university, supported by the taxpayers of Colorado," said Anne Hudgens, CSU's executive director of student judicial affairs. "I think we are bound in every sense to uphold Colorado state law - morally, ethically and legally."

The initiative stokes the fires of alcohol and drug use and abuse at CSU. During the fall semester, two students died in alcohol-related deaths and four more students at other Colorado colleges suffered similar fates.

Specifically, the student-initiated referendum calls on CSU leaders to acknowledge marijuana use is safer than alcohol and marijuana punishments shouldn't be any more harsh than alcohol punishments. Also, the initiative calls on CSU to track the frequency of alcohol-related incidents before and after any such change in policy.

The manner in which underage drinking and marijuana use tickets are handled is essentially the same at CSU already, Hudgens said.

"We really don't differentiate between marijuana and underage drinking use," Hudgens said, noting there are stricter penalties for selling the drug.

When police or residence hall staff notify CSU officials of violations, students are given an educational and health assessment "to determine what should be done to help them get back on track," Hudgens said.

Even if the measure does make it to the ballot and is ratified by students, it would be nonbinding, and CSU administrators would not have to touch it.

The initiative is more about the safety of students than legalization of marijuana, said Mason Tvert, executive director of the Boulder-based Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER).

"Greater punishment on drug use directs students to alcohol," Tvert said. "The university should do whatever it can to keep students safe."

SAFER already has worked with students at the University of Colorado-Boulder to get a similar measure placed on CU's student ballot.

CSU student body president Katie Clausen said she does not support the initiative but noted the students are exercising rights given to them by the constitution of the student government.

Students' opinions on the issue vary.

"I don't approve of it," said Steve Krebsbach, 22, a senior majoring in construction management. "If you want to smoke, then smoke, but there is a law against it."

Freshman Greg Haas, 18, who is pursuing a business major, said he agreed in principle with the initiative but noted it would cast CSU in a negative light.

"I have friends who have gotten into more trouble with alcohol than marijuana," Haas said. "While it comes out sounding reasonable, I think it makes CSU look bad within the rest of the state."

Note: Group argues penalties should be no worse than alcohol.

Newshawk: Mayan
Source: Fort Collins Coloradoan (CO)
Author: Nikolaus Olsen
Published: March 24, 2005
Copyright: 2005 The Fort Collins Coloradoan
Contact: NikOlsen@coloradoan.com
Website: http://www.coloradoan.com/
Link to article: http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread20400.shtml

[IndianaToker]

By Monte Whaley
Source: The Day

Fort Collins, Colo. — Students at two Colorado college campuses rocked by alcohol-related deaths last year are pressing school officials to lighten up on marijuana users. Claiming pot is safer than alcohol, activists at the University of Colorado in Boulder and Colorado State University here want sanctions for the use and possession of marijuana to be no greater than those imposed for underage drinking.

Students signed petitions last week to have the measure put on the ballots next month during student elections. The initiatives also asks administrators to conduct a study to determine the impact of making marijuana use nonpunishable for students older than 18.

The vote will be nonbinding at CU and CSU. But if the measures pass, they will send a message that students think a few puffs from a joint are a lot safer than several shots of beer, said Mason Tvert, executive director for SAFER (Safer Alternatives for Enjoyable Recreation).

“If a fraternity told a freshman to go into the woods and smoke a pound of pot, he is not going to die from that,” said Tvert, a recent University of Virginia graduate. “He'll fall asleep before that happens.”

The Boulder-based SAFER was formed in January as a nonprofit group and is looking to create chapters at CU and CSU. The group is heading the petition drives to get the marijuana measure before student voters.

Proponents got the 1,200 signatures needed at CU and are hoping to get the required 2,085 at CSU by Monday, Tvert said.

He claims too much police time and money is spent on marijuana enforcement, while it is alcohol that claims lives. At least 1,400 college student deaths each year are linked to alcohol, according to the National Institutes of Health.

But, Tvert said, there has never been a reported case of a student dying from a marijuana overdose.

“Our stance is that alcohol is more acceptable in our society and that is just bad public policy,” he said.

Marijuana is an illegal substance and can draw fines and jail time. Students caught with pot can be suspended from school.

Both CU and CSU had a student die last year from alcohol poisoning. Their deaths led to several changes aimed at curtailing alcohol abuse on both campuses and to proposals in the Colorado legislature to tighten penalties for underage drinking.

“Tons of kids are dying every year from alcohol, and we just think there is an alternative to that,” said Havi Nelson, a CSU junior and a leader in the petition drive.

Some are skeptical that marijuana isn't as dangerous as alcohol.

Students who use marijuana consistently have a harder time in classes, their grades fall and their relationships plummet, said Anne Hudgens, CSU's executive director for campus life.

In all, she said, “I don't think we are interested in our school experimenting with making marijuana use nonpunishable.”

Source: Day, The (CT)
Author: Monte Whaley
Published: March 27, 2004
Copyright: 2005 The Day Publishing Co.
Contact: editor@theday.com
Website: http://www.theday.com/
Link to article: http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread20414.shtml

[sensimil]

Originally Posted by IndianaToker

By Monte Whaley


Proponents got the 1,200 signatures needed at CU and are hoping to get the required 2,085 at CSU by Monday, Tvert said.

hopefully the hippies and the stoners didnt get diverted by the weekend to place there vote in time!
im pleased to see this action taking taking shape on campus!

[IndianaToker]

By Nikolaus Olsen
Source: Coloradoan

Colorado -- The efforts of three students to get Colorado State University administrators to declare marijuana safer than alcohol haven't gone up in smoke just yet. The students, with the help of a Boulder-based organization, collected the needed 2,085 signatures of full-time students to get their referendum onto the ballot for April's student election. About 2,500 signatures were collected.

The elections committee of CSU's student body now is verifying the signatures.

The student-initiated referendum asks university administrators to declare that marijuana use is safer than alcohol.

It also asks that penalties for possession of marijuana not be harsher than alcohol violations.

Also, the initiative calls on CSU to track the frequency of alcohol-related incidents before and after any such change in policy.

If the referendum passes, it would be nonbinding, and administrators can choose to ignore it.

"I think it shows students are willing to support what we are doing," said Zana Buttermore-Baca, a CSU freshman and organizer of the referendum.

They could've collected more signatures, she said, but they were limited by CSU's student body's campaign rules to six days.

The group is now planning a rally Thursday on the Lory Student Center plaza in support of the measure, Buttermore-Baca said.

The students were aided by the Boulder-based Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER). The group also helped University of Colorado-Boulder students collect the 1,000 signatures needed to place a similar referendum on that school's student ballot.

The base of the students' argument is that while up to 1,400 college students die from alcohol-related incidents each year, according to a National Institutes of Health study, there has never been a reported death caused by overdose of marijuana, Buttermore-Baca said.

Stricter punishment for drug violations pushes students toward alcohol, organizers said.

The initiative arrived on CSU's campus at a time when alcohol and drug issues have garnered much attention after the alcohol-fueled riots and alcohol-related deaths of two students in the fall.

Anne Hudgens, executive director of campus life at CSU, said the school already treats infractions of alcohol and marijuana laws in a similar manner. Even then, she said, as a state institution, CSU has a moral, ethical and legal obligation to uphold Colorado's laws.

Complete Title: CSU Students Get Marijuana Referendum on School Ballot

Newshawk: Mayan
Source: Fort Collins Coloradoan (CO)
Author: Nikolaus Olsen
Published: March 29, 2005
Copyright: 2005 The Fort Collins Coloradoan
Contact: NikOlsen@coloradoan.com
Website: http://www.coloradoan.com/
Link to article: http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread20422.shtml

[IndianaToker]

By Joseph Thomas, Colorado Daily Staff
Source: Colorado Daily

Colorado -- Marijuana proponents are making sure this year's April 20 marijuana celebration does not go up in smoke. A rally to protest the school's anti-marijuana stance is scheduled for Friday on Farrand Field. The event, titled "April Fools' Day 420 Fake-Out," will be held to raise awareness of the recent crackdown on marijuana on campus and point out the hypocrisies in the system, according to Mason Tvert, executive director of Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER) - an organization that is lobbying to pass marijuana referendums on both the CU and CSU campuses.

"It is the belief of the students that the University is trying to pass the blame for its recent blunders onto the students. It's obvious to the students, the staff and the faculty that alcohol is the problem and not marijuana," said Tvert.

Last week, University officials said there may be more enforcement at this year's marijuana celebration than in previous years.

Organizers of the protest said marijuana is not the real issue for the University, alcohol is, and the university's resources should be used to discourage drinking, not smoking marijuana.

"For the school to come out and discourage (smoking marijuana) is very hypocritical because of the fact they consider alcohol a more acceptable form of recreation for students. So essentially they are encouraging students to use alcohol by making the penalties less severe than they are for marijuana," said Tvert.

The school currently uses similar sanctioning for both marijuana and alcohol. After two alcohol or marijuana violations, a student faces a judicial review with a possibility of suspension from school.

CU officials were not reachable Wednesday for comment on the Fake-Out protest.

The protest will feature guest speakers, which may include faculty that will talk about marijuana usage on campus and what may be misconceptions about marijuana usage.

"Most of the University's arguments have been that this is an event which is a mass intoxication festival," said Tvert. "In fact, very few people come out and use marijuana on this day."

Source: Colorado Daily (UC Edu, CO)
Author: Joseph Thomas, Colorado Daily Staff
Published: March 31, 2005
Copyright: 2005 Colorado Daily
Contact: letters@coloradodaily.com
Website: http://www.coloradodaily.com/
Link to article: http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread20430.shtml

[IndianaToker]

By Stephanie Lindberg
Source: Rocky Mountain Collegian

Colorado -- Students hoping to see a referendum supporting less severe university sanctioned penalties for marijuana use on the ballot for next week's Associated Students of CSU elections may not see it come to fruition. Volunteers with SAFER (Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation) Choice, a nonprofit organization supporting alcohol-use awareness, have been collecting signatures from students in an effort to get the referendum on the ballot for the elections to be held April 4 through April 6.

The referendum would not change the consequences of marijuana use on campus. If it passes, it would be a recommendation by the student body to the university that penalties for marijuana use be reduced to match those of alcohol use.

Questions were raised by an anonymous source about the validity of some of the signatures. There needs to be 2,085 valid signatures from full-time, fee-paying students in order for the referendum to be placed on the ballot.

"Our organization feels the punishments for marijuana are too tough right now," said Dylan Bieniulis, a freshman biochemistry major and one of the student volunteers. "We just want to get it out there to see what the students think. Now we're experiencing difficulties getting it on the ballot."

Election rules stipulate that a written protest may be filed and should be given to those who are trying to place the referendum so they know their accuser, a rule Mason Tvert, executive director of SAFER said ASCSU has violated.

"As of right now, ASCSU hasn't followed the election rules," Tvert said. "Halfway through the election they decided to change the rules. It's an obvious effort to keep it off the ballot. We're going to protest to the full extent."

Tvert said he has not been able to get the name of the person who was complaining about the signatures.

"They said the person was going to remain confidential," Tvert said. "Apparently a few people thought they were able to sign but they weren't."

Since it was an anonymous person expressing concern over the validity of the signatures, it was not a formal contestation in writing that falls under these rules, said Elections Committee Manager Brian Hardouin.

"There was an agreement made that the person would not make a contestment if it was verified," said Cord Brundage, interim executive elections adviser.

Hardouin said because of the concerns they have begun verifying the signatures in an effort to get the referendum on the ballot by Thursday so students can vote on it.

"The individual had legitimate concerns and some of those are emerging," Hardouin said.

Brundage said it was within the rights of the election manager to verify the signatures.

"We had people here all night," Hardouin said of trying to certify the referendum. "It's definitely not a lack of effort. There would be no contestment if it was certified."

The last time there was a student referendum discussed was 1995, when the student fee review board was formed, Brundage said.

Tvert said that could be part of the problem.

"There's no precedent for anything like this," Tvert said.

If all signatures are certified by noon today, Hardouin said the referendum would definitely be on the ballot for the election.

Source: Rocky Mountain Collegian, The (CO Edu)
Author: Stephanie Lindberg
Published: March 31, 2005
Copyright: 2005 Rocky Mountain Collegian
Website: http://www.collegian.com/
Contact: editor@lamar.colostate.edu
Link to article: http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread20432.shtml

[IndianaToker]

By Megan Schulz and Lila Hickey
Source: Rocky Mountain Collegian

Colorado -- Supporters of SAFER Choice gathered on the Lory Student Center Plaza Thursday morning to celebrate the addition of a marijuana referendum to the Associated Students of CSU ballot for the upcoming April 4 through April 6 elections. "This is a very symbolic measure," said Mason Tvert, SAFER Choice executive director. "Ethically, the school has a vested health interest in its students and should be doing everything it can to make sure they are safe."

SAFER (Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation) Choice, a nonprofit organization funded by a private donor, has been trying to extend the values that marijuana use should have parallel punishments to alcohol use on campus. It has also pushed the values and initiatives to the University of Colorado-Boulder.

The success of getting the referendum on the ballot does not constitute enforcement of the policies. The students were able to make an audible statement that will debut on the ballots Monday. If it succeeds at the polls it will then be passed to the university's administration for consideration.

Some T-shirts that said "Party Organically" were given away at the rally.

"There is no doubt in anyone's mind that alcohol is a more acceptable form of recreation on campus," Tvert said. "They should not consider marijuana more severe than alcohol just because it is illegal."

An anonymous individual informally requested that the signatures collected for the referendum be verified, so ASCSU Elections Committee members began verifying the signatures. The committee would have exceeded the ballot referendum deadline to verify all 2,421 signatures on the petition one by one. Because of this deadline, the individual decided not to formally contest the signatures, and the verification process was stopped.

The Referendum for Marijuana Policy Reform at CSU will be on the ASCSU ballot, which will be available Monday through Wednesday for students to vote on RAMWeb.

"Monday is the first day of registration," said Redavid, a junior liberal arts major. "We're hoping students who visit RAMWeb to register will take time out to vote."

At least 10 percent of the CSU student body has to vote in the election in order for it to be valid. Last year, a record-setting 24 percent of the student body voted, said Nic Redavid, assistant director of public relations and deputy elections manager at ASCSU.

When asked if she thinks the referendum will pass, SAFER Choice student campaign manager Zana Buttermore-Baca had a positive outlook.

"We just need a majority of the vote," said Buttermore-Baca, a freshman sports medicine major. "I think even students who don't smoke (marijuana) will vote for us."

Buttermore-Baca said she joined SAFER Choice because she thinks it is a good cause and wanted to volunteer for something in which she believed.

ASCSU elections will begin Monday at 8 a.m.

Newshawk: The GCW
Source: Rocky Mountain Collegian, The (CO Edu)
Author: Megan Schulz and Lila Hickey
Published: April 01, 2005
Copyright: 2005 Rocky Mountain Collegian
Contact: editor@lamar.colostate.edu
Website: http://www.collegian.com/
Link to article: http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread20439.shtml