cannabisnews.com: Ballot To Include Pot Question Ballot To Include Pot Question Posted by CN Staff on August 27, 2002 at 15:58:15 PT By Jennifer Fenn Source: Sentinel & Enterprise Residents in Ashby, Ashburnham and Gardner will vote on a ballot question in November that would gauge public support for legislation that decriminalizes marijuana possession.The question would read, "Shall the state representative from this district be instructed to vote in favor of legislation that would make possession of less than one ounce of marijuana a civil violation, subject to a maximum fine of $100 and not subject to any criminal penalties?" Rep. Brian Knuuttila, D-Gardner, and Republican William Hunt of Gardner are vying for the 2nd Worcester district seat, which also includes Royalston and Winchendon. Neither were available for comment Monday.Similar questions are expected to appear on the ballot in 20 state representative districts.The Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition is behind the effort. The questions have been certified by the secretary of state's office and are now under review by the attorney general's office. Attorney General Thomas Reilly's office reviews the questions to make sure they qualify as a public policy issue.Steven Epstein, founder of MassCann, said the state could immediately save "millions of tax dollars in police overtime, public defenders and probation," and reduce the backlog in the criminal courts by making the possession of marijuana a civil, not criminal offense.But Epstein said the real savings to the taxpayers will come in public safety -- if police officers cut back on time spent booking the low-level offenders and writing reports, they will be able to put in more time on the street.Epstein also described it as a moral issue. He said the current law "persecutes otherwise law-abiding citizens and the ill, terrorizing people with the threat of arrest when they are harming no one or trying to alleviate life-threatening medical conditions or the effects of their other therapies."The current law, according to MassCann, damages over 10,000 families every year when a breadwinner or other loved one gets a criminal record and suffers loss of a driver's license instead of paying a civil fine, like a speeding ticket.MassCann conducted a similar campaign in 2000, when 18 cities and towns passed similar measures by a two-thirds margin. No new laws have been enacted however that would ease penalties for marijuana use or possession.There are four questions this year, all worded slightly differently. They are targeted in communities where the coalition has volunteers or they are represented by lawmakers who have stalled legislation decriminalizing marijuana possession, Epstein said."It's important to let them know that their people by a good margin support ending the arrest of adults in possession of marijuana," Epstein said.In West Boylston and several precincts in Worcester, voters will be asked, "Shall the state representative from this district be instructed to vote for legislation that would allow patients with certain diseases, who have a written doctor's recommendation, to possess and grow small amounts of Cannabis marijuana for their personal use until such time that the federal government puts into an effective distribution system for these patients?"In Randolph, Quincy, Norwood, Walpole, Rockland, Hanover, Norwell, Charleston, South Boston, Brookline, West Roxbury, Roslindale, Jamaica Plain, Hyde Park, Allston, Brighton, Ashby, Ashburnham, Gardner, Royalston, Winchendon, Barre, Brookfield, Hardwick, New Braintree, North Brookfield, Petersham, Phillipston, Spencer, Templeton, Ware and West Brookfield, West Boylston and several Worcester precincts, voters will be asked, "Shall the state representative from this district be instructed to vote in favor of legislation that would make possession of less than one ounce of marijuana a civil violation, subject to a maximum fine of $100 and not subject to any criminal penalties?"In Amesbury, Newburyport, Salisbury, Georgetown, Groveland, Haverhill, Merrimac, Newbury, Rowley, West Newbury, Andover, Boxford, Methuen and two North Andover precincts, voters will be asked, "Shall the state representative from this district be instructed to introduce and vote for legislation making possession of marijuana a civil violation, like a traffic ticket instead of a criminal offense, and requiring the police to hold a person under 18 who is cited for possession until the person is released to a parent or legal guardian or brought before a judge?"And in Athol, Erving, Gill, Greenfield, Orange and Warwick, voters will be asked, "Shall the state representative from this district be instructed to vote in favor of legislation that would allow licensed farmers in Massachusetts to grow Cannabis hemp a crop with a 1 percent or less, THC, the active ingredient in marijuana for legitimate agricultural and industrial purposes?"Source: Sentinel & Enterprise (MA)Author: Jennifer Fenn, Sentinel & Enterprise State House Bureau Published: Tuesday, August 27, 2002Copyright: 2002 MediaNews Group, Inc. 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