Denver, CO: Colorado media outlets are roundly criticizing an effort by federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officials to spend taxpayers’ dollars and use paid staff time to campaign against Amendment 44, “the Alcohol-Marijuana Equalization Initiative.”
Correspondences from DEA officials seeking to hire a professional campaign manager to organize opposition to the initiative were cited by several Colorado media sources, including the Boulder Daily Camera and the Associated Press, on Monday.
Sponsored by Safer Alternatives For Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER), Amendment 44 would revise state statutes to make the possession of up to one ounce of cannabis legal in Colorado for anyone age 21 or older. Last year, voters in Denver passed a similar municipal initiative by 54 percent.
Several Colorado papers, including the Denver Post, the Rocky Mountain News, and the Aurora Daily Sun and Sentinel, immediately opined against the DEA’s tactics, warning that taxpayers’ funds should not be used to influence local elections. “Federal agencies … have no business using their muscle to influence state ballot races,” opined the Rocky Mountain News. “That’s why we hope the DEA will abandon this campaign and that next year, Congress will enact legislation that would prevent any federal agency from pursuing this sort of mischief.”
While federal law prohibits using public resources to influence local partisan activities, US government officials are not forbidden from campaigning on non-partisan political issues. By contrast, Colorado law forbids state employees from using state resources to advocate for or against any political activity.
For more information, please visit: saferchoice.org. To listen to an interview with SAFER Campaign Director Mason Tvert, please download the August 14, 2006 edition of the NORML Audiostash.