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Drug reform activists, convinced that law enforcement resources would be better spent on other crimes, will ask voters in several area communities this fall to weigh in on reducing penalties for marijuana possession.
Proponents of the change have succeeded in getting a series of nonbinding questions -- meant to gauge public opinion -- on ballots this November in communities across Greater Boston. In Bellingham and Milford, voters will consider the legality of medicinal marijuana -- allowing seriously ill patients to grow the drug for medical use. In Boylston, Northborough, Franklin, and parts of Medway, voters will weigh in on whether the penalty for possession should be reduced from a criminal charge to a civil violation subject to a fine.
According to state law, first-time marijuana offenders are typically placed on probation, but the law also allows for imprisonment and fines for possession. Opponents of relaxing the rules say marijuana use is often the first step toward drug addiction and see no point in amending current policies, but supporters of the change say it's a waste of money to prosecute low-level possession offenses.
''Let's save our scarce law enforcement dollars for more serious crimes," said Whitney Taylor, executive director of the Drug Policy Forum of Massachusetts, an organization that supports the use of marijuana for medical purposes, a treatment that Taylor said helped ease her stepfather's discomfort when he became terminally ill.
This year's ballot questions, which are slated to appear in 11 legislative districts and are cosponsored by the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition, follow similar initiatives in 2000 and 2002. Both years, according to the Drug Policy Forum, which has helped push formal legislative efforts to reform laws, the measures passed in every district; in 2000, voters in the 6th Middlesex House district in Framingham supported reducing the penalties for possession.
Advocates of the changes say they hope to use voter sentiment this year as part of their effort to persuade legislators to change state law.
But despite what seems like growing public support for relaxing marijuana laws, some lawmakers remain unconvinced.
State Representative James Vallee, a Franklin Democrat who cochairs the Legislature's Joint Committee on Criminal Justice, said previous legislation to reduce penalties for marijuana possession garnered no support from members of his committee.
Vallee said he worries that efforts to decriminalize marijuana could lead to a similar push for other substances. He said drugs are a significant problem that warrants more than penalties akin to a traffic ticket.
''No one's given me any reason why we should decriminalize marijuana," Vallee said. ''I just don't see any significant reason why we should."
Vallee said he was uncertain whether his stance would change, if voters in his district end up supporting the changes.
''I'll cross that bridge when I come to it," he said.
State Representative Harold Naughton, a Clinton Democrat whose district includes Boylston and Northborough, said he was concerned that marijuana is a ''gateway drug" that could lead to more serious drug use. He said, however, that the ballot questions could lead to valuable discussions about incarceration for drug offenses and treatment.
But some local legislators have already registered their support of drug policy reform.
State senators Cynthia Stone Creem, a Newton Democrat, and Steven Tolman, a Brighton Democrat whose district includes Watertown, supported a bill in the last legislative session penalizing first-time possession of less than an ounce of marijuana with a fine of $100. Creem said money saved on public safety could be used to bolster treatment programs.
''We're not looking ahead at how we spend our money," she said.
Ten states have legalized the medical use of marijuana, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
But in 2001, the US Supreme Court ruled that people who supply marijuana to patients are not protected from prosecution.
US Representative Barney Frank, a Democrat of Newton, has cosponsored legislation that would allow doctors in states that have legalized medicinal marijuana to prescribe the drug and allow those states to designate legal sources of marijuana.
As far as the Bush administration is concerned, Scott Burns, deputy director of the White House Drug Policy Office, said marijuana has grown more potent over the past 30 years, and more young people are in treatment for marijuana use than any other drug.
He said his office wants children to see drug users face serious consequences.
Supporters of drug policy reform say they have to fight perceptions that they are part of the cause for self-serving reasons -- namely that they want to smoke with impunity.
Yakov Kronrod, a 23-year-old Worcester resident, said he does not smoke but became involved in the issue after a college friend was caught with marijuana and lost his federal financial aid.
Taylor believes the ballot questions will help give a voice to those with similar perspectives.
''You can get a true feeling of what [voters] feel," she said.
The Boston Globe
By Emily Shartin
August 22, 2004
Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.
Boston.com / News / Local / Marijuana questions on several local ballots
Proponents of the change have succeeded in getting a series of nonbinding questions -- meant to gauge public opinion -- on ballots this November in communities across Greater Boston. In Bellingham and Milford, voters will consider the legality of medicinal marijuana -- allowing seriously ill patients to grow the drug for medical use. In Boylston, Northborough, Franklin, and parts of Medway, voters will weigh in on whether the penalty for possession should be reduced from a criminal charge to a civil violation subject to a fine.
According to state law, first-time marijuana offenders are typically placed on probation, but the law also allows for imprisonment and fines for possession. Opponents of relaxing the rules say marijuana use is often the first step toward drug addiction and see no point in amending current policies, but supporters of the change say it's a waste of money to prosecute low-level possession offenses.
''Let's save our scarce law enforcement dollars for more serious crimes," said Whitney Taylor, executive director of the Drug Policy Forum of Massachusetts, an organization that supports the use of marijuana for medical purposes, a treatment that Taylor said helped ease her stepfather's discomfort when he became terminally ill.
This year's ballot questions, which are slated to appear in 11 legislative districts and are cosponsored by the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition, follow similar initiatives in 2000 and 2002. Both years, according to the Drug Policy Forum, which has helped push formal legislative efforts to reform laws, the measures passed in every district; in 2000, voters in the 6th Middlesex House district in Framingham supported reducing the penalties for possession.
Advocates of the changes say they hope to use voter sentiment this year as part of their effort to persuade legislators to change state law.
But despite what seems like growing public support for relaxing marijuana laws, some lawmakers remain unconvinced.
State Representative James Vallee, a Franklin Democrat who cochairs the Legislature's Joint Committee on Criminal Justice, said previous legislation to reduce penalties for marijuana possession garnered no support from members of his committee.
Vallee said he worries that efforts to decriminalize marijuana could lead to a similar push for other substances. He said drugs are a significant problem that warrants more than penalties akin to a traffic ticket.
''No one's given me any reason why we should decriminalize marijuana," Vallee said. ''I just don't see any significant reason why we should."
Vallee said he was uncertain whether his stance would change, if voters in his district end up supporting the changes.
''I'll cross that bridge when I come to it," he said.
State Representative Harold Naughton, a Clinton Democrat whose district includes Boylston and Northborough, said he was concerned that marijuana is a ''gateway drug" that could lead to more serious drug use. He said, however, that the ballot questions could lead to valuable discussions about incarceration for drug offenses and treatment.
But some local legislators have already registered their support of drug policy reform.
State senators Cynthia Stone Creem, a Newton Democrat, and Steven Tolman, a Brighton Democrat whose district includes Watertown, supported a bill in the last legislative session penalizing first-time possession of less than an ounce of marijuana with a fine of $100. Creem said money saved on public safety could be used to bolster treatment programs.
''We're not looking ahead at how we spend our money," she said.
Ten states have legalized the medical use of marijuana, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
But in 2001, the US Supreme Court ruled that people who supply marijuana to patients are not protected from prosecution.
US Representative Barney Frank, a Democrat of Newton, has cosponsored legislation that would allow doctors in states that have legalized medicinal marijuana to prescribe the drug and allow those states to designate legal sources of marijuana.
As far as the Bush administration is concerned, Scott Burns, deputy director of the White House Drug Policy Office, said marijuana has grown more potent over the past 30 years, and more young people are in treatment for marijuana use than any other drug.
He said his office wants children to see drug users face serious consequences.
Supporters of drug policy reform say they have to fight perceptions that they are part of the cause for self-serving reasons -- namely that they want to smoke with impunity.
Yakov Kronrod, a 23-year-old Worcester resident, said he does not smoke but became involved in the issue after a college friend was caught with marijuana and lost his federal financial aid.
Taylor believes the ballot questions will help give a voice to those with similar perspectives.
''You can get a true feeling of what [voters] feel," she said.
The Boston Globe
By Emily Shartin
August 22, 2004
Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.
Boston.com / News / Local / Marijuana questions on several local ballots
