Denver (CNN) — A Colorado advocacy group is spending thousands of dollars to convince people that smoking pot is safer than drinking alcohol.

It’s an attempt by the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol to rally support for a vote in November that would legalize the drug for recreational use. Colorado legalized marijuana for medical use in 2000.

Last Friday, the group aired an advertisement on a local Denver channel during daytime programming encouraging people to “start your conversation about marijuana.” The 30-second spot features a young woman typing a message to her mother on her laptop, explaining that after spending her college years drinking heavily, she now prefers marijuana because “it’s less harmful … I don’t get hung-over and honestly I feel safer around marijuana users.”

The marketing campaign aims to “break down the stereotype about who the typical marijuana user is,” explained the campaign’s co-director, Mason Tvert.

“Most of them are professional, hard-working people,” he said.

The TV ad, which aired only on Friday, cost about $2,000, according to Tvert. It may run again, depending on fund-raising efforts, he said. Last month, the campaign spent about $4,500 on a billboard near Denver’s (Sports Authority Field at) Mile High stadium — purposely adjacent to the Mile High Liquors store — to deliver a similar message, Tvert said.

The billboard also features a woman, this one in her 50s, standing with her arms crossed next to the message: “For many reasons, I prefer … marijuana over alcohol. Does that make me a bad person?”

Watch the TV ad

By attempting to change “stereotypes” about marijuana users, the campaign hopes to make Colorado the first state to legalize recreational marijuana use.

“The goal is the choice — to make sure adults have the choice to use a less harmful substance than alcohol,” Tvert said.

Dr. Otis Brawley with the American Cancer Society questioned that conclusion.

“The problems of excessive alcohol use and the problems caused by any even minor smoking of marijuana are so different, I have difficulty comparing,” said Brawley, CNNhealth.com contributor and the American Cancer Society’s chief medical and scientific officer.

“There are short-term and long-term primarily pulmonary problems associated with marijuana (and) excessive alcohol use is long-term correlated with GI (gastrointestinal) and neurologic problems.”

Also debatable is whether the money generated by legalizing and regulating marijuana through taxes will outweigh the costs of creating government-run marijuana distribution centers.

Tvert says the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol estimates that legalizing and regulating marijuana could generate $50 million a year in saved expenses and revenue.

“We’ve been pushing very hard in Colorado and people agree, it’s not worth the law enforcement resources being used (to crack down on marijuana users) and it’s not worth losing out on the tax dollars,” he said.

22 million Americans use illegal drugs, study says

Tvert said he was not aware of any criticism for the advertisement, noting that legalizing marijuana is “one of the biggest issues in our state legislature in the last few years.”

“We live in a state that has made a lot of progress on the issue,” he said. “It’s not as controversial as many other issues.”

That’s partly because of the prevalence of medical marijuana dispensaries across the state. State-sanctioned marijuana dispensaries now outnumber Starbucks in Colorado and there are well over 100,000 people on the medical marijuana registry.

Mobile marijuana clinic for Colorado’s rural residents

Six years ago, an attempt to legalize marijuana in Colorado failed. This year’s initiative goes much further than the 2006 ballot, because it establishes a system that regulates and taxes the drug, Tvert said. He believes the infrastructure created by Colorado’s medical marijuana industry will help boost the chances that voters will approve legal recreational use of the drug.

Residents are also more accustomed to the idea of a legalized form of the drug, now that medical marijuana dispensaries are a common sight across the state, Tvert said.

“We’re not asking people to imagine, as we would just two years ago,” he explained. “People have seen that just because there’s a marijuana center in Colorado … just because there might be a storefront in your town or city, it hasn’t caused any problems.”

He noted that the initiative would allow cities and municipalities to “opt out” of allowing marijuana sales, similar to “dry counties” which ban the sale of alcohol.

Colorado isn’t the only state where voters will consider legalizing marijuana in the fall: there’s a similar ballot initiative in Washington and there could be one in Oregon, as well, if enough signatures are collected.

“There are actually… close to 17 or 18 initiatives working their way to the ballots,” according to Sue Rusche, president and CEO of the non-profit anti-drug organization, National Families in Action.

Rusche said her group’s main focus is to “force the (marijuana) industry” to ensure that it doesn’t market the drug to children.

“We ask a question: if a state actually does legalize marijuana for recreational use… what kind of things can we learn form the alcohol and tobacco industries in the way they’ve marketed to kids?” she said. “What can we do to prevent that (marijuana) industry from marketing to kids?”

She said setting a legal age limit of 21 is not enough.

“We do not trust the advocates who are trying to legalize marijuana because we don’t believe they are willing to look at these other two industries (alcohol and tobacco),” Rusche said. “Everything we read in their initiative has to do with making money and not protecting kids.”

If any marijuana initiative passes, Rusche said her group is interested in working with the state agencies that write the regulations in order “to force the industry to self-police rather than (have) the taxpayers pay for the cost” of any negative consequences, including addiction treatment and accidents caused by driving under the influence.

“We want people to take marijuana legalization seriously and think seriously about the consequences to kids,” she said.

When asked about Rusche’s concerns, Tvert said he was confident the marijuana industry would not target its product to minors.

“There’s a great deal of self-regulating already taking place — business owners not choosing marijuana leaves or cartoon characters,” he said, referring to the medical marijuana industry. “It’s an evolving industry (and) in theory, these are standards that are already being created.”

That doesn’t mean the marijuana industry won’t advertise its product in places where children might be present, though.

“It’s worth noting, every young person that walks into a professional baseball game in Colorado (at Coors Field) is walking into a beer commercial,” he said. “So the notion that we somehow cannot possibly have marijuana legal because young people will somehow know about it and see it, is unrealistic.”

SOURCE: http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/17/health/colorado-marijuana-initiative/

In a Feb. 14 letter to his constituent, McConnell said he has “serious concerns” about legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes, a topic that the constituent had written to him about. He pointed out that the main ingredient in marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol, is already available in pill form for the treatment of certain illnesses.

He is also “troubled” by the fact that many legalization proposals would make marijuana available to the public “without following the scientific processes” of the Food and Drug Administration, McConnell said.

McConnell then cites a medical marijuana bill introduced by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and raises concerns about what could happen if it became law — death.

“Because of the harm that substances like marijuana and other narcotics pose to our society, I have concerns about this legislation. The detrimental effects of drugs have been well documented: short-term memory loss, loss of core motor functions, heightened risk of lung disease, and even death,” McConnell wrote.

McConnell spokesman Don Stewart said McConnell was just making the case that drugs in general have detrimental effects.

“Everyone from the Obama administration on down agrees that drug use has had serious consequences, including deaths. The letter makes that clear,” Stewart said.

The constituent who corresponded with McConnell posted the letter on a counterculture blog, grasscity.com, and wrote a response to what McConnell had to say:

“Hi Blades, got a letter back from Mitch McConnell about legalizing marijuana. I’ll let the letter speak for itself. WOWZA.”

SOURCE: Huffington Post

AnnArbor.com reports (http://bit.ly/wB7eaV ) 50-year-old Robert Goupill of Milan, about 35 miles southwest of Detroit, was arraigned Monday in Monroe County. He’s charged in Thursday’s shooting death of 28-year-old Jerald Ogden of Ypsilanti.

Goupill also is charged with manufacturing a controlled substance. Police say he was growing more marijuana than allowed under Michigan law.

Goupill is due back in court March 19. A message seeking comment was left Tuesday with lawyer Edward Swinkey.

A medical examiner said Ogden died of a shotgun wound to the back. Police say the shooting happened about 200 yards from Goupill’s home.

The other robbery suspect was being sought.

SOURCE: Lansing State Journal

Washington state already has a marijuana legalization measure on ballots this November.

Legalization supports in Colorado were given additional time to collect signatures because too many signatures were deemed invalid. If the second batch does not meet the threshold, marijuana activists will have to start over, though they could sue to challenge some of the rejections.

Read more: Ballot decision expected on pot legalization – The Denver Post

A bill up for a Senate hearing Monday would say that drivers would be considered impaired if they test positive for 5 nanograms or more of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Problem is that there’s little agreement over whether the amount is a fair gauge of whether a driver is impaired.

Current Colorado law says drivers can’t be impaired by drugs but does not set a THC limit. Pot activists say impairment and THC levels aren’t directly related.

Marijuana activists called the 5-nanogram limit “unfair” because they say patients who use marijuana regularly see a gradual build-up of THC levels, even when sober.

The 5 -nanogram limit “is not supported by the science,” argued Michael Elliott of the Medical Marijuana Industry Group, which opposes the bill.

Marijuana activists favor instead an education effort reminding patients they cannot legally drive high.

Last year, a similar DUI standard cleared the House but was defeated in the Senate amid concerns from both parties about the lack of agreement on an acceptable blood-level standard. A nonpartisan study committee that looked at the question during the summer and fall could not agree on what the standard should be.

The Republican sponsor of this year’s bill says law enforcement needs a standard to measure impairment.

“It’s time we had a clear standard,” said Sen. Steve King, R-Grand Junction.

States that have set a legal limit for marijuana have taken different approaches.

Nevada, which allows marijuana use for medical purposes, and Ohio have a limit of 2 nanograms of THC per milliliter for driving. Pennsylvania has a 5 nanogram limit, but unlike Colorado’s proposal, it’s a state Health Department guideline, which can be introduced in driving violation cases. Twelve states, including Illinois, Arizona, and Rhode Island, have a zero-tolerance policy for driving with any presence of an illegal substance.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, peak THC concentrations are present during the act of smoking and they generally fall to less than 5 nanograms within three hours.

Read more: Colorado revisits marijuana DUI standard – The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/news/marijuana/ci_20053091#ixzz1nblbWg2i

Letters sent last month to 23 dispensaries near schools in Colorado gave the businesses until today to either move or shut down. If they do not, the U.S. attorney’s office has vowed to take criminal or civil action against the businesses, which are inherently violating federal law but are in compliance with state medical-marijuana law.

U.S. Attorney John Walsh has said he is not bluffing.

“I hope,” Colorado U.S. attorney’s spokesman Jeff Dorschner said, “those marijuana stores that received letters took them seriously.”

By most accounts, they did.

Mike Elliott, the executive director of the Medical Marijuana Industry Group, a cannabis-business trade organization, said he hasn’t heard of any dispensaries planning to stay open and fight the feds.

“Everyone I know of is planning on shutting their business down,” Elliott said.

Medical-marijuana attorney Lauren Davis said her clients that received letters plan to move or close, though she said there are rumors that some dispensaries may try to stay open on the sly.

In Colorado Springs, Judy Negley said the downtown location of her Indispensary will not be open starting today because the store, which is near Palmer High School, received a letter.

Negley said the decision was a difficult one but was ultimately made because of the “absolute undue hardship they could rain down on the property.”

Negley said she worried that the government might try to seize not just her dispensary but also Independent Records, which she also owns. She said workers at the downtown Indispensary will be offered jobs at other branches.

“We care about these people and the patients as well,” Negley said. “We want to take care of our patients and our employees. The best way to do that is to avoid getting into an unwinnable fight with someone with an ax to grind.”

Indeed, beating the feds when it comes to medical marijuana is a tall task. Federal judges, in Colorado and other states, have frequently denied attempts to raise state-law defenses in federal criminal cases.

Davis, the attorney, said winning back property during a civil forfeiture action is equally difficult, since federal law contains a blanket condemnation of marijuana.

“It is close to impossible to win in a federal forfeiture action,” she said.

Walsh has said the crackdown is necessary because of concerns over how Colorado’s medical-marijuana boom is affecting teen access to and perception of marijuana. He has cited statistics showing a rising number of drug-related suspensions and expulsions at schools, as well as reports that medical marijuana is being diverted to teens.

Though the federal government has showed some willingness to defer to state medical-marijuana laws, Walsh said he must still uphold federal law-enforcement priorities.

“One of those interests, without question, is protecting drug-free zones around schools,” he said last month.

Read more: Medical-marijuana shops near schools face cutoff today: Close or move – The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/news/marijuana/ci_20052013#ixzz1nbkEI8QY

On Tuesday, members of the House Criminal Justice Committee voted 9 to 7 in favor of HB 1526, which reduces the penalties for minor marijuana possession offenses (up a half ounce) from a criminal misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine to a nominal monetary penalty ($250 for the first offense), no arrest, and no criminal record.

On Thursday, members of this same Committee voted 10-7 in favor of HB 1705, which seeks to allow adults age 21 or over to use marijuana legally in their home.

Both measures will soon be voted on by the full House. If you reside in New Hampshire, please contact your member of the House and urge their support for these marijuana law reform measures. NORML’s ‘Take Action’ page has legislative alerts for HB 1526 here and for HB 1705 here.

Get active; get NORML!

SOURCE: NORML Blog

More importantly, have you taken the time to call or write your state elected officials this year and urged them to support these pending reforms? If not, NORML has provided you with all of the tools to do so via our capwiz ‘Take Action Center’ here. (FYI: NORML’s capwiz page is specific to legislation only, not ballot initiative efforts. A summary pending 2012 ballot initiative campaigns may be found at NORML’s Legalize It 2012 page on Facebook here or on the NORML blog here.)

Below is a synopsis of statewide legislation pending in 2012. Detailed information on bill numbers, hearing dates, and how you can get involved to support these efforts is available here.

MEDICINAL MARIJUANA

The following 20 states have legislation pending to enact limited legal protections for medicinal cannabis users and/or to improve existing medical marijuana laws:

Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Wisconsin, West Virginia

DECRIMINALIZATION

The following states have legislation pending to reduce marijuana possession penalties to a non-criminal offense:

Arizona, Hawaii, Indiana, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont

REGULATION

Legislation that seeks to legalize and regulate the commercial production and distribution of cannabis to adults is before lawmakers in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Legislators in Massachusetts have scheduled a public hearing on this measure, HB 1371, to take place on Tuesday, March 6.

(Also of note, legislation that NORML opposes is pending in Colorado and Florida.)

If your state isn’t listed above then please consider using NORML’s ‘Take Action Center’ to send a message to your members of Congress in support of HR 2306, the ‘Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act.’ You can do so here. Then consider taking the next step and contacting your state elected officials and urging them to take action.

Get active; get NORML!

SORCE: NORML Blog

The Legislature is considering three different proposals dealing with the  legalization of medicinal marijuana.

Read The Bills:
» HB 15 – Maryland Medical Marijuana Act
» HB  1024 – Medical Marijuana Commission
» HB 1158 – Medical Marijuana Oversight  Commission

One proposal backed by Delegate Dan Morhaim, D-Baltimore County, would  allow the drug to be prescribed to ease the suffering of those with debilitating  conditions.
“Our plan really has a tightly controlled system. It’s the  state-designated grower and distribution system with every leaf accounted for,  from growing to where the patient gets it, and a very tight system of  recommendation — easily the tightest system in the U.S.,” Morhaim said.

He said it’s important to understand that the drug helps people.

“We have to have a heart here. With the aging of the population and the  number of people that are surviving chronic diseases, this can give them relief,  and we can do it in a responsible way. That’s why there is bipartisan support  and public support,” Morhaim said.

His medical marijuana bill is scheduled to be heard March 9 by a joint  House committee.

Read more: http://www.wbaltv.com/politics/30506352/detail.html#ixzz1n3blIlc4

SOURCE: WBALTV

Researchers at Montana State University, the University of Colorado, and San Diego State University assessed rates of suicide in the years before and after the passage of statewide medical marijuana laws.

Authors found, “The total suicide rate falls smoothly during the pre-legalization period in both MML (medical marijuana law) and non-MML states. However, beginning in year zero, the trends diverge: the suicide rate in MML states continues to fall, while the suicide rate in states that never legalized medical marijuana begins to climb gradually.”

They reported that this downward trend in suicides in states post-legalization was especially pronounced in males. “Our results suggest that the passage of a medical marijuana law is associated with an almost 5 percent reduction in the total suicide rate, an 11 percent reduction in the suicide rate of 20- through 29-year-old males, and a 9 percent reduction in the suicide rate of 30- through 39-year-old males,” they determined.

Authors theorized that the limited legalization of cannabis may “lead to an improvement in the psychological well-being of young adult males, an improvement that is reflected in fewer suicides.” They further speculated, “The strong association between alcohol consumption and suicide-related outcomes found by previous researchers raises the possibility that medical marijuana laws reduce the risk of suicide by decreasing alcohol consumption.”

They concluded: “Policymakers weighing the pros and cons of legalization should consider the possibility that medical marijuana laws may lead to fewer suicides among young adult males.”

Full text of the discussion paper, “High on Life: Medical Marijuana Laws and Suicide,” is available online here.

SOURCE: NORML Blog