| SAFER Campuses Initiative |
With the spring semester beginning at colleges around the nation, the SAFER Campuses Initiative, letting students know marijuana is safer than alcohol, is off to an early start, according to Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER).
Every objective study on marijuana, according to SAFER, has concluded that marijuana is far safer than alcohol. Yet most of the nation’s universities punish students far more harshly for pot than for booze.
“In doing so, they are sending a dangerous message that fosters and perpetuates a ‘culture of alcohol’ on campuses nationwide, and drives students to drink rather than make the rational, safer choice to use marijuana instead,” SAFER says in a press release.
“It’s time colleges and universities stop encouraging college students to ‘drink responsibly’ and start encouraging them to ‘party responsibly.'”
“The SAFER Campuses Initiative is already helping several local campuses get their efforts off the ground,” according to the organization’s website, “and we’ll continue to help them and others work to change campus policies and spark public debate about the relative safety of marijuana compared to alcohol.”
The goal is to work with students at as many schools as possible, so students are invited to contact the SAFER Campuses Initiative if they are interested in working with SAFER on your campus or at one near you.
“Whether you’re interested in running a full-blown SAFER campaign, or simply taking part in a huge Nationwide Day of Action we are planning, we want to hear from you!” the organization says. “We will be able to provide you with a great deal of support, including instructions, materials, and direct assistance.”
The SAFER movement began about five years ago on two college campuses in Colorado. It has since spread across the nation, with students at more than a dozen schools, including five of the 15 largest in the nation, adopting SAFER referenda.
These referenda call for reductions in campus penalties for marijuana use, so that they are no greater than those for alcohol use.
At a few schools, SAFER campus leaders are now working with administrators to develop and implement policy changes that reflect the student referendum votes. These efforts have generated significant news coverage and discussion at the campus, local, and even national level.