cannabisnews.com: A Simple Law Goes One Toke Over The Line





A Simple Law Goes One Toke Over The Line
Posted by CN Staff on January 02, 2009 at 05:54:04 PT
Editorial
Source: Patriot Ledger
Quincy, MA -- The voters of Massachusetts spoke clearly Nov. 4 on the topic of marijuana: They want simple possession treated as a civil infraction, more like a parking ticket than a serious crime, with a maximum fine of $100.Other laws involving marijuana stay in place, and those under 18 caught with less than an ounce of pot are required to attend a drug-education course as well as pay the fine.
But as the new law goes into effect today, one thing is becoming clear: There’s nothing simple or clear about the law.Among those unclear about what Question 2 intends are law enforcement officials. Question 2 proponents “sold the public a pig in a poke, and the public bought it,” Cape and Islands DA Michael O’Keefe said recently.The district attorneys, who opposed the ballot initiative, cite a long list of problems, some of which sound easily surmountable. Who’ll print up the tickets? Who will design the drug education course? What if a young violator doesn’t show up for the course and doesn’t pay the $1,000 fine?Some of the questions are just silly. Berkshire County DA David Capeless asked if chiefs can discipline officers who light up a joint on their way out the door. Of course: with a $100 fine and whatever punishment department policies establish.Some boards of health are worried because the ban on smoking in bars and restaurants only applies to tobacco. What’s to stop someone from firing up a joint in a restaurant? Well, how about the prospect of getting kicked out of the restaurant and fined $100?School officials have raised objections as well, wondering if the new law prevents them from suspending students caught with marijuana, but there’s no mention of schools in Question 2, which amends the criminal statute, not the school handbook.Some questions, though, are valid, such as whether possession of less than an ounce of hashish, which contains the drug THC exempted in the new law, is a crime or a civil infraction.Police have raised the issue of extra training. They have raised the issue of whether this means the state’s two crime labs won’t do tests on seized marijuana less than an ounce.But there’s no need to test every sample of regular marijuana. Besides, if they are testing every bag of pot seized, whether suspicious or not, that may be one reason the crime labs are constantly backed up – and the first sign that Question 2 can save the taxpayers money.The public’s response to the educators, police and prosecutors should be simple: You’re the professionals; work it out.That’s what’s happening. Last week, the chief justice of the state district courts issued an eight-page memorandum addressing the questions raised by the new law. The state Executive Office of Public Safety issued a set of guidelines this week.Among those guidelines, which raised the prospect of the hashish possession, are an encouragement to cities and towns to pass ordinances or bylaws banning the public use of marijuana, until now an unnecessary step because possessing any amount of marijuana was illegal.Attorney General Martha Coakley has prepared a sample bylaw that would punish public pot smokers with an additional $300 fine and the possibility of being charged with a misdemeanor crime.That should settle most matters, and beyond that, we’ve got a large system of courts designed to interpret laws.Take the next adult caught with a thimble-full of pot to court if necessary. But don’t take this issue back to a Legislature which has ducked all questions of drug policy for decades. The campaign is over and the voters have spoken.Source: Patriot Ledger, The (Quincy, MA)Published: January 2, 2009Copyright: 2009 GateHouse Media, Inc.Contact: editpage ledger.comWebsite: http://www.patriotledger.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/si3l4e0YRelated Articles:New Marijuana Law Shouldn't Pose Problemshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24394.shtmlPot Law Leaves Rule Very Fuzzyhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24393.shtml
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Comment #4 posted by Hope on January 02, 2009 at 11:01:09 PT
The last paragraph smacks of some good old
"Of the people, by the people, and for the people" patriotism.
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Comment #3 posted by Hope on January 02, 2009 at 10:57:58 PT
A pig in a poke.
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/282900.html"A pig that's in a poke may turn out to be no pig at all."
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Comment #2 posted by runruff on January 02, 2009 at 08:06:50 PT
The poke was worth more than the pig!
 “sold the public a pig in a poke, and the public bought it,” Cape and Islands DA Michael O’Keefe said recently.Sorry about the misprint folks but DA O'Keefe was referring to his own election here.
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Comment #1 posted by potpal on January 02, 2009 at 06:10:36 PT
police state of mind
They can't let go.Cut out the middle man, the prosecutors and law enforcement. Cut them loose to catch real criminals, the kind CBS constantly invents shows portraying, CSI, Criminal Minds, Cold Case etc...sick shows like that. Regulate cannabis and add it to the cornicopia of plants that benefit mankind. They want simple possession treated as a civil infraction, more like a parking ticket than a serious crime, with a maximum fine of $100.Now want 'they want' really wasn't on the table, but decrim was better than nothing. Have a referendum that ask the question, Legalize and regulate or have a half assed prohibition that has your local police forces running around like the keystone cops, and an industry that squanders the public funds and bankrupts its citizens only to benefit themselves?
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