DENVER WILL VOTE THIS WEEK ON MEASURE TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA

DENVER -- The nickname Mile High City could soon have an entirely new meaning.

Denver voters will decide Tuesday whether to make it legal for adults
to possess up to an ounce of marijuana. Seattle; Oakland, Calif., and
a few college towns already have laws making possession the lowest
law enforcement priority.

Supporters in Denver have launched a "Make Denver Safer" campaign
that contends the change will help curb domestic violence.

"There's no doubt that if people choose to use marijuana instead of
alcohol we would not have the same number of problems," said Mason
Tvert, the 23-year-old campaign organizer.

The argument has angered local officials.

"It's a deceptive and deceitful campaign," said Councilman Charlie
Brown. "Domestic violence is not on the ballot. ... Marijuana is on
the ballot."

A yes vote probably won't make much difference. The city attorney's
office said Denver police will simply file marijuana possession
charges under state law, which carries up to a $100 fine and a
mandatory $100 drug-offender surcharge.

From 2002 to August of this year, about 6,800 people in Denver were
charged with possession of less than 1 ounce of marijuana, reports
the city attorney's office.

Critics of the ballot measure are wary of what a yes vote might do to
Denver's reputation.

"People will flock to Denver to use marijuana," said Jeffrey Sweetin,
head of the Rocky Mountain Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration.