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The420Guy
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Date: Thu, 07 Dec 2000 12:15:09 -0800
From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org>
To: restore@crrh.org
Subject: MA: Voters Say Ease Pot Laws
Message-ID: <5.0.0.25.2.20001207121456.05026eb0@mail.olywa.net>
Newshawk: kim hanna
Pubdate: Wed, 06 Dec 2000
Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)
Copyright: 2000 Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Contact: letters@telegram.com
Address: P.O. Box 15012, Worcester, MA 01615-0012
Fax: (508) 793-9313
Website: telegram.com: Local & World News, Sports & Entertainment in Worcester, MA
VOTERS SAY EASE POT LAWS
When researchers launched the nation's most ambitious heart study 50 years
ago, they chose Framingham, a middle-class town west of Boston and
cross-section of America.
Now, supporters of liberalized marijuana laws are hoping voters in this
Massachusetts heartland are signaling a fundamental shift in public
attitudes about the state's war on drugs.
On Election Day, Framingham voters overwhelmingly approved a nonbinding
question calling for a law that would make possession of less than one ounce
of marijuana a civil violation with a fine of no more than $100. They
weren't alone.
Voters in Ipswich, Winchester and Harwich also backed nonbinding questions
calling for easing of marijuana laws. In March, Amherst voters called for
the repeal of laws prohibiting the possession and use of marijuana.
Approval of the measures comes as the U.S. Supreme Court indicated it will
hear the federal government's efforts to block state laws allowing ill
patients to use marijuana for pain relief.
Sponsors of the questions say they prove support for weakening of marijuana
laws extends beyond traditional liberal enclaves such as Cambridge and
Amherst.
"There is a terrific, discernible disconnect between the public and our
elected officials on the issue of the war on drugs," said Allen St. Pierre
of the National Organization for the Repeal of Marijuana Laws. Armed with
those votes of confidence, pro-marijuana activists are taking their message
to a much tougher crowd: Beacon Hill lawmakers. One proposal would
decriminalize possession of an ounce or less of pot by making it a civil
infraction punishable by a fine. Another would give a boost to the state's
1996 medical marijuana law by allowing people to grow their own. The 1996
law, which allows people with certain illnesses to use marijuana, is on hold
because people would have to register with a state Department of Health
research project. Federal law prohibits such projects. If they are
unsuccessful in the Legislature, activists are preparing to take their
proposal to the ballot box in 2002, St. Pierre said. Both bills face an
uphill fight.
Voters in Rep. Bradford R. Hill's traditionally conservative Ipswich
district soundly approved a nonbinding referendum calling on Hill to support
legislation making possession of marijuana a civil violation like a traffic
ticket. Hill, a Republican, isn't ready to take that step. He said he was
baffled by the vote and will hold hearings in his district to gauge public
opinion. "Philosophically, I don't agree. I have had three friends from high
school pass away because of drug abuse," he said. "But clearly a message was
sent through that vote."
_____________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
---
MAP posted-by: Andrew
From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org>
To: restore@crrh.org
Subject: MA: Voters Say Ease Pot Laws
Message-ID: <5.0.0.25.2.20001207121456.05026eb0@mail.olywa.net>
Newshawk: kim hanna
Pubdate: Wed, 06 Dec 2000
Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)
Copyright: 2000 Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Contact: letters@telegram.com
Address: P.O. Box 15012, Worcester, MA 01615-0012
Fax: (508) 793-9313
Website: telegram.com: Local & World News, Sports & Entertainment in Worcester, MA
Worcester Telegram : Local News, Politics & Sports in Worcester, MA
Get the latest breaking news, sports, entertainment and obituaries in Worcester, MA from Worcester Telegram .
www.telegram.com
VOTERS SAY EASE POT LAWS
When researchers launched the nation's most ambitious heart study 50 years
ago, they chose Framingham, a middle-class town west of Boston and
cross-section of America.
Now, supporters of liberalized marijuana laws are hoping voters in this
Massachusetts heartland are signaling a fundamental shift in public
attitudes about the state's war on drugs.
On Election Day, Framingham voters overwhelmingly approved a nonbinding
question calling for a law that would make possession of less than one ounce
of marijuana a civil violation with a fine of no more than $100. They
weren't alone.
Voters in Ipswich, Winchester and Harwich also backed nonbinding questions
calling for easing of marijuana laws. In March, Amherst voters called for
the repeal of laws prohibiting the possession and use of marijuana.
Approval of the measures comes as the U.S. Supreme Court indicated it will
hear the federal government's efforts to block state laws allowing ill
patients to use marijuana for pain relief.
Sponsors of the questions say they prove support for weakening of marijuana
laws extends beyond traditional liberal enclaves such as Cambridge and
Amherst.
"There is a terrific, discernible disconnect between the public and our
elected officials on the issue of the war on drugs," said Allen St. Pierre
of the National Organization for the Repeal of Marijuana Laws. Armed with
those votes of confidence, pro-marijuana activists are taking their message
to a much tougher crowd: Beacon Hill lawmakers. One proposal would
decriminalize possession of an ounce or less of pot by making it a civil
infraction punishable by a fine. Another would give a boost to the state's
1996 medical marijuana law by allowing people to grow their own. The 1996
law, which allows people with certain illnesses to use marijuana, is on hold
because people would have to register with a state Department of Health
research project. Federal law prohibits such projects. If they are
unsuccessful in the Legislature, activists are preparing to take their
proposal to the ballot box in 2002, St. Pierre said. Both bills face an
uphill fight.
Voters in Rep. Bradford R. Hill's traditionally conservative Ipswich
district soundly approved a nonbinding referendum calling on Hill to support
legislation making possession of marijuana a civil violation like a traffic
ticket. Hill, a Republican, isn't ready to take that step. He said he was
baffled by the vote and will hold hearings in his district to gauge public
opinion. "Philosophically, I don't agree. I have had three friends from high
school pass away because of drug abuse," he said. "But clearly a message was
sent through that vote."
_____________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
---
MAP posted-by: Andrew
