Denver officials may not want to highlight the fact that the Democratic National Convention this August will be held in a city that was first in the nation to make private possession of marijuana legal for adults, but legalization proponents are sure to capitalize on the media attention during the event.
Take an opinion piece in the Denver Post this week where Mason Tvert, executive director of Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER), the group that led the campaign to legalize pot in Denver in 2005, connects convention history to alcohol prohibition:
Upon his nomination for president at the 1932 DNC in Chicago, a city marred by and largely opposed to Prohibition, Franklin D. Roosevelt used his acceptance speech to boldly and unambiguously call for the legalization and regulation of alcohol.
Word of the Democratic candidate’s position spread quickly around the country and resonated amongst the millions who enjoyed using alcohol or simply did not think it warranted criminal penalties. It was these voters, known as the "wets," who many historians credit with carrying Roosevelt to victory that November.
SAFER isn’t willing to say exactly what it has planned for the convention just yet, but it will be doing something to bring attention to the legalization cause while the whole world is watching, Tvert confirms.
Considering all of the cameras, it’d be stupid not to.
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