cannabisnews.com: Question 4 on Local Ballot Would Decriminalize Pot





Question 4 on Local Ballot Would Decriminalize Pot
Posted by CN Staff on October 31, 2002 at 09:52:13 PT
By Bette Keva 
Source: TownOnline.com 
"I didn't inhale," said Bill Clinton a decade ago in a remark that he'll likely never live down. Smoking marijuana is illegal, so certainly a presidential candidate, as he was at the time, could not admit to it. He would go on to have worse legal problems, but the fact remains that in Massachusetts pot is illegal.There's the rub. Proclaiming through slogans and banners that "It's NORML to Smoke Pot," attorney and West Street resident Steve Epstein of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), is working hard to pass Ballot Question 4 locally and other legislative districts for what he says are more sensible laws governing the use of pot.
But Ballot Question 4 (it is 5 or 6 elsewhere in the state) does not call for making pot legal. It simply calls for decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of it.If this were done, according to a study released this month by Boston University professor of economic Jeffrey A. Miron, the state could save approximately $24.3M annually in law enforcement resources.The Ballot Question for Georgetown reads:"Shall the state representative from this district be instructed to introduce and vote in favor of legalization 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 sited for possession until the person is released to a parent or legal guardian or brought before a judge."The study, sponsored by the Drug Policy Forum of Massachusetts, states that "decriminalization of marijuana means that possession is not subject to criminal sanctions but instead punishable only by a civil fine. Trafficking, and selling or distributing to minors, remain subject to standard criminal penalties."While Miron says that drug policy should not solely depend on budgetary savings to the Commonwealth, he points out that evidence from other states and countries "provides no indication that decriminalization leads to a measurable increase in marijuana use."Miron insists that the proposal in Ballot Question 4 simply would legalize "what is already occurring."The state "says there are no people in jails for pot possession," said Miron. "On the county level, which deals with short term offenders, facilities report that 50 people out of 10,000" are in jail because of possession of "any controlled substance. It could be coke, heroin," said Miron adding that the figure is miniscule.The benefit of decriminalizing marijuana is "improved welfare for users. Users will suffer a fine, but not the embarrassment of arrest," said Miron.The story is different from around the country. A release just issued this week by NORML states that "police arrested an estimated 723,627 persons for marijuana violations in 2001, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's annual Uniform Crime Report. . The total is the second highest ever recorded by the FBI, and comprises nearly half of all drug arrests in the United States. 'These numbers belie the myth that police do not target and arrest minor marijuana offenders,' said Keith Stroup, executive director of NORML 'In fact, the war on drugs is largely a war on pot smokers. This effort is a tremendous waste of criminal justice resources that should be dedicated toward combating serious and violent crime, including the war on terrorism..'"Under current practice, said Miron, police will see a group of youngsters, smell the pot and take it away from them and call their parents."In some cases, the kid does get arrested. Under this new system they would get a fine that the parents would pay like a traffic violation and they would not have a record. Even now, frequently, they don't get a court record. Their case is continued without a finding." Miron said. "If over the next six months the youth stays out of trouble, the charges are dropped and the record expunged."Miron's report did not address commonly known effects of marijuana use, such as lack of motivation.Essex County Sherriff's Department spokesman Paul Fleming said Sheriff Frank G. Cousins Jr. "is not in favor of legalizing or decriminalizing any kind of drug use that currently is against the law. What he is in favor of are programs, rehabilitative services, that help wean drug abusers off of narcotics."Source: TownOnline.com (MA)Author: Bette Keva Published: Wednesday, October 30, 2002Copyright: 2002 TownOnline.com Website: http://www.townonline.com/Contact: http://www.hiasys.com/contactus/contactus.htmlRelated Articles & Web Sites:NORMLhttp://www.norml.org/MassCannhttp://www.masscann.org/Marijuana Arrests For Year 2001 http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5444Should Possessing Pot Not Be a Crime? http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14548.shtmlBallot To Include Pot Question http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13903.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by druid on October 31, 2002 at 10:26:12 PT:
hmm
It was a pretty decent story until the end when they had to spout some prohibitionist propaganda Miron's report did not address commonly known effects of marijuana use, such as lack of motivation. Hasn't this been addressed over and over and over and over and over and ......
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