cannabisnews.com: Joint Move To Target Public Pot Smoking





Joint Move To Target Public Pot Smoking
Posted by CN Staff on December 30, 2008 at 08:57:07 PT
By Dave Wedge and Edward Mason
Source: Boston Herald
Massachusetts -- Pot smokers flying high over a new law providing simple tickets for possessing small amounts of weed could still find themselves in cuffs as city leaders weigh a state recommendation to get tough on public toking.“I’d sign it in a second,” Lynn Mayor Edward “Chip” Clancy said. “I wasn’t in favor of the ballot question. I don’t think the expansion of marijuana use, or any other drug for that matter, is a good idea.”
The soft-on-pot law just approved by Bay State voters takes effect Friday, making possession of less than an ounce of marijuana punishable by a $100 fine, rather than arrest.But in guidelines issued by the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security yesterday, state officials urged cities and towns to pass local laws to pile on additional fines and make it a crime to smoke pot in public.“I think communities would have to take a hard look at doing something like that,” said Woburn Mayor Thomas McLaughlin, calling the state’s recommendation “interesting.”Public toking laws were not previously needed on the books because simple possession was a criminal offense, albeit a misdemeanor.Attorney General Martha Coakley, who opposed the pot power play overwhelmingly approved by voters in November, suggested towns tack on an additional $300 civil penalty as well as criminal penalties.Decriminalization backers fear the proposed local crackdown amounts to an “end-run” around the spirit of the new law.“We’re not opposed in principle to some kind of sensible regulation, however, if it starts to look like this is being done to undo the wishes of voters, then yes, we would be opposed to that,” said Dan Bernath, spokesman for the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project, which backed the Bay State ballot initiative.Boston City Councilor Stephen Murphy, chairman of the council’s public safety committee, said he planned to discuss the issue with the board and Mayor Thomas M. Menino.“I think we should look at what all of our options are,” Murphy said.Menino spokeswoman Dot Joyce said the mayor had not been briefed on the guidelines and wanted to reserve comment. Menino shared the concerns of district attorneys that Question 2 would be a gateway to weaker pot laws.But, Joyce said, “the people have voted, and we’ll follow the letter of the law.”Cops and prosecutors have also argued that the new law could nullify drug testing of cops, bus drivers and MBTA employees. Public Safety Secretary Kevin Burke, though, said sanctions for flunking drug tests are unchanged.“You can still provide effective employee discipline,” Burke said.The new law, similar to others across the country, is designed to prevent people caught with small amounts of marijuana from having lifetime criminal records. Rather than arrest and prosecution, the law requires police to issue a $100 civil fine for a first offense. For minors, there is a parental notification and education requirement.Burke said the law still allows cops to search suspects, seize pot and arrest drug dealers.Source: Boston Herald (MA)Author:   Dave Wedge and Edward MasonPublished: Tuesday, December 30, 2008 Copyright: 2008 The Boston Herald, Inc.Website: http://www.bostonherald.com/Contact: letterstoeditor bostonherald.comURL: http://drugsense.org/url/G9qcNxM1Related Articles: State Cuts Through Haze of Marijuana Lawhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24386.shtmlPot Law Could Snuff Out Testing Policyhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24382.shtml
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on January 01, 2009 at 09:05:06 PT
potpal
And thank you too. It takes all of us to make this web site work.Happy 2009!
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Comment #12 posted by potpal on January 01, 2009 at 08:54:47 PT
fom back at ya
Thank you and Happy New Year to you too. Thanks for your hard work!
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on December 31, 2008 at 20:09:06 PT
Vincent and Hope
Happy New Year! 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #10 posted by Hope on December 31, 2008 at 20:04:52 PT
Vincent, Potpal, FoM...All of you...
A happy, happy, very good, healthy, and fruitful New Year for all of us!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #9 posted by Vincent on December 31, 2008 at 15:31:10 PT:
Sore Losers
My message to all these sore losers and Bible-banging malcontents: Get over it; We won and you lost. So go into the woods like some wounded animal and lick your wounds. And do these misanthropes take my advice? No, they try to undo the will of the "real" people by seeking other measures, such as fines for public herb smoking. How typical
 of these numbskulls. You know, like that jerky mayor of Lynn--whatsisname?--oh yeah, Edward "I never smoked a joint in my life" Clancy. 
  Oh well, enough of this tirade. I would like to wish Hope and FoM and everyone else a happy New Year!
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on December 31, 2008 at 08:54:26 PT
potpal
Happy New Year to you too!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #7 posted by potpal on December 31, 2008 at 06:05:56 PT
another poor pun
joint move...pot = cannabis pot smokers = cannabis users 
Not everyone smokes it. Some may vaporize or cook with it.But in guidelines issued by the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security yesterday, state officials urged cities and towns to pass local laws to pile on additional fines and make it a crime to smoke pot in public.Somebody has got to bail them out.Chipper has a chip on his shoulder. Maybe a hippy stole his girlfriend in high school.Happy New Year to everyone here on Cannabis News!
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Comment #6 posted by NikoKun on December 30, 2008 at 21:50:04 PT
hmmm important point
"I don’t think the expansion of marijuana use is a good idea."
Since when was decriminalization/legalization equal to "expansion of use"?The point of reforming these horrible prohibition laws isn't to expand use... Far from it! It's to fix the problems Prohibition creates, and to deal with a real problem with some sense, rather than ignorance... Not to mention personal freedoms demand it.Anyway just pointing that out... It's another talking point to watch out for... Prohibitionists think decrim/legalizeation are "expansion of use", increasing use, or even encouraging use. Which is obviously not true, as we've seen in some places that more liberal laws in this issue, do NOT expand use, but rather slowly decrease it!
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Comment #5 posted by E_Johnson on December 30, 2008 at 21:36:15 PT
These people live in an alternate reality
It's rather fascinating in a sick way just how far they've been able to talk themselves away from reality.They're like kids at camp at night telling each other about the Five Creeping Fingers -- only they're adults, and it's broad daylight, and they're talking about cannabis.
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Comment #4 posted by Sukoi on December 30, 2008 at 17:40:42 PT
Off Topic - Marinol
Hello all, It's been a while but I have a friend that has just been prescribed Marinol and I recall someone here, at some point, posting a website that had experiences and other information about the imitation cannabis and I was wondering if any of you might remember where that resourse might be. Thanks for any help in advance...
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #3 posted by dongenero on December 30, 2008 at 13:28:09 PT
Votes
How many votes does your average voter get? Right, 1!How many votes do white-flight community, prohibitionist mayors get? That's right, 1!I assume Mayors "Chip" Clancey, McLaughlin, AG Coakley all took the time to vote. They had their chance to vote, probably did vote, and well....they lost. Figure it out.Frankly, this stuff shouldn't even require a vote. It's a question of personal freedom and responsibility that should be protected by default under the Constitution.Move the dinosaurs out of the way.
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Comment #2 posted by runruff on December 30, 2008 at 09:14:04 PT
High Chip!
"I don’t think the expansion of marijuana use, or any other drug for that matter, is a good idea.”See, the theory here in America is, I can live by my own ideas so long as I don't tread on someone else's toe's while doing it!I don't believe in Chip's knowledge of medicine and I don't trust in his understanding of the herb CannabisI trust that he is a politician who loves being on the public payroll in a high profile job. How does this in any way qualify him to make life governing decisions for the rest of us?"I am smarter than this man!"-Braveheart" 
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Comment #1 posted by HempWorld on December 30, 2008 at 09:05:50 PT
Obviously this bylaw reflects the fact that certai
n people go awol over the smell of marijuana. How horrible, quick, let's make it a severe 'crime.'The hypocrisy of the above is simple unfathomable.We, the people, proposed a law that was democratically accepted via the voting process and then, the powers that be, try to stamp it out via a heavy bylaw.
On a mission from God!
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