cannabisnews.com: Legalizing of Marijuana Use May Head To Ballot Legalizing of Marijuana Use May Head To Ballot Posted by CN Staff on August 04, 2004 at 08:06:49 PT By Michael Kunzelman, News Staff Writer Source: Metrowest Daily News Boston -- The debate over decriminalizing marijuana and legalizing its medical use may be heading to the ballot in a handful of MetroWest communities this fall. A pair of advocacy groups have sponsored several nonbinding "public policy questions" about the state's marijuana laws for the Nov. 2 ballot. Two of the questions ask voters in two state Senate districts and five House districts if they support making marijuana possession a civil violation instead of a crime. Voters represented by state Rep. James Vallee, D-Franklin, and state Sen. Richard Moore, D-Uxbridge, are among those who would be asked whether the state should decriminalize the drug. A third question, meanwhile, asks voters in four House districts if "seriously ill patients" should be allowed to grow and possess marijuana for medicinal purposes. State Rep. Harold Naughton, a Clinton Democrat whose district includes Northborough, is one of the four House lawmakers whose constituents would be polled on medicinal marijuana. Whitney Taylor, executive director of the Drug Policy Forum of Massachusetts, said a clear majority of voters have supported similar ballot questions in the last two election cycles, dating back to 2000. "This isn't polling of likely voters. This is exactly what the voters think," she said. "It's just an amazing way to get a feel for what the people of the commonwealth think about these issues." Taylor's group, working closely with the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition, targeted House and Senate seats held by lawmakers who chair committees that hear marijuana-related legislation. Vallee, for instance, serves as House chairman of the Criminal Justice Committee, while Moore serves as Senate chairman of the Health Care Committee. Neither legislator, however, appears likely to embrace the proposed reforms. Several bills that deal with decriminalizing marijuana or legalizing it for medical use have been bottled up in both lawmakers' committees this year. "We haven't seen any scientific medical evidence that marijuana itself has medical value," Moore said. "I don't think I'm inclined to support bills that are in violation of the (federal) law (governing marijuana)." Vallee said he is opposed to decriminalizing marijuana. "I just think it sends the wrong message to young people when we're already struggling to control the drug problem in our communities," he said. But Vallee said he would be "interested to see how my constituents feel." "It's certainly a debate worth having, and I'll try to keep as open a mind as possible...but the votes (in the Legislature) are overwhelmingly not there," he said. Today is the deadline for the questions' sponsors to file signatures with the Secretary of State William Galvin's office. Taylor and Steven Epstein, spokesman for the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition, said both groups have filed the signatures they need to get their questions on the ballot. Once the signatures are certified, Attorney General Thomas Reilly's office must decide if the initiatives pose a legitimate question about public policy. Mass Cann wants to ask voters in Vallee's district whether he should "introduce and vote for legislation making possession of marijuana a civil violation like a traffic ticket, and requiring police to hold a person under the age of 18 cited for possession until released to a parent, legal guardian or brought before a judge." Epstein said the state spends an estimated $25 million annually to arrest and prosecute adults for marijuana possession. "Twenty-five million dollars buys a lot of school teachers," he said. "The time has come for Massachusetts, a so-called 'liberal' state, to decriminalize marijuana." Taylor's group poses a slightly different question to Naughton's constituents, asking whether he should "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." Naughton, a former prosecutor, said he "probably" would not support the initiative. "The problem is that it minimizes the use of a narcotic drug, even if it's less than an ounce," he said. Although Naughton said he supports the concept of legalizing marijuana for medical uses, he did not support a plan to do that when it reached the House floor about seven years ago. "They hadn't worked out where the supply was coming from," he said. "I don't know why it lost steam after that because the concept is very good." Meanwhile, voters in Moore's district would be asked if he should "vote in favor of legislation that would allow seriously ill patients, with their doctor's written recommendation, to possess and grow small amounts of marijuana for their personal medical use." Taylor said she has a personal stake in the latter question. Her late stepfather used marijuana to ease his suffering before he succumbed to cancer. "Not only did it improve his quality of life, but I know it also saved some of my grandmother's sanity," she said. Vallee represents Franklin and part of Medway. Moore's Worcester and Norfolk senatorial district includes Bellingham, Blackstone, Hopedale, Mendon, Milford and Northbridge. This would not be the first time that MetroWest voters have weighed in on the issue. In 2000, 67 percent of 14,192 voters represented by state Rep. Deborah Blumer, D-Framingham, said they support repealing all of the criminal penalties associated with marijuana possession and making it a civil violation, punishable by a fine of up to $100. Boston University Professor Jeffrey Miron, author of the newly published "Drug War Crimes," said legalizing marijuana for medical uses is an "easier sell" than decriminalizing the drug. "A lot of the politicians I've spoken to are privately sympathetic," Miron said, "but they say, 'It's a non-starter for us politically, so it's not going to happen.'" Source: Metrowest Daily News (MA)Author: Michael Kunzelman, News Staff WriterPublished: Wednesday, August 4, 2004Copyright: 2004 MetroWest Daily NewsContact: mdnletters cnc.comWebsite: http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/MassCann NORMLhttp://www.masscann.org/CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by FoM on August 05, 2004 at 16:15:56 PT Portion of Article from The Associated Press BOSTON, MA: Patriot Act, Marijuana, Bullying on Local Ballots This Fall August 5, 2004 -- Voters in 61 state House and Senate districts will have a chance this fall to weigh in on policy questions ranging from the value of the Patriot Act to the use of marijuana for medical purposes to bullying in the workplace. As in past years, there are several questions on marijuana use, including one about legislation that would allow seriously ill patients to possess and grow small amounts of pot and another making possession of marijuana more like a traffic ticket than a criminal offense. A third, more radical question, which is on the ballot in just one district, would ask the local legislator to support legislation that would legalize marijuana for adults 21 and older, allowing the state to levy a tax on each sale. Complete Article: http://www.heraldnews.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1710&dept_id=99697&newsid=12630744&PAG=461&rfi=9 [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by afterburner on August 04, 2004 at 09:32:23 PT Someone Should Start Sending White Feathers... to these So-called Lawmakers.As in the movie: The Four Feathers (2002) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0240510/" Plot Outline: A British officer resigns his post just before battle and subsequently receives four white feathers from his friends and fiancee as symbols of what they believe to be his cowardice. " [ Post Comment ] Post Comment