Massachusetts embraces change...in marijuana law

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Massachusetts embraces change...in marijuana law

By Andrew B. Einhorn Nov 05 2008, 12:49 PM

Hundreds of thousands of students in Boston and other parts of Massachusetts will be breathing in change deep and heavy soon, thanks to a ballot initiative that passed in the state last night decriminalizing small quantities of marijuana.

Question number two - which many Massachusetts advocates of the ballot initiative inevitably spaced out until they saw it in front of them- decriminalized the possession of an ounce or less of marijuana to a mere $100 civil fine. The measure passed by a landslide margin of 65 to 35 percent, dealing a blow to prosecutors and law enforcement officials who opposed it.

Offenders under the age of 18 would have to have their parents notified of their fine and be required to complete a drug awareness program. If they don't, the fine is raised to $1,000.

Revenues from the new law will likely add up quickly, especially if university police departments place the fines on tuition bills of college students. The increase in income could help stave away additional cuts in the state budget and staff, or fund ongoing efforts to help Boston residents pronounce their "Rs."

“Last year an American was arrested on marijuana charges once every 36 seconds, which is more arrests for marijuana possession alone than for all violent crimes combined.” said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, which sponsored the Massachusetts and Michigan campaigns. “Our ideologically stunted marijuana policies have been a catastrophic failure, and the voters have loudly said, ‘Enough!’ Marijuana prohibition is about to take its place next to alcohol Prohibition on the ash heap of history.”

Ash heap is right, as Massachusetts became the twelfth state to decriminalize marijuana.

The Boston Globe reported that "the proposition will become law 30 days after it is reported to the Governor's Council, which usually meets in late November or early December." But before the state goes up in smoke, there could be snags. The State Legislature could amend or repeal the new law, as they have done with prior initiatives passed by the voters, said Emily LaGrassa, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Martha Coakley. If it happened, that would surely inspire coughing fits or rage around the state.

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Read More: Public Health, Legislation, Massachusetts

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Pat Smith
November 7, 2008 3:35 PM

If this new Obama administration really wants change, a much better economy, and an end to ALL the wars we are fighting this would be a good start: Afghanistan has doubled its opium production over the past two years and now accounts for 93 percent of the world's output, according to the annual UNODC survey. The southern province of Helmand alone has become the world's biggest source of illicit drugs. The amount of Afghan land used for opium has surpassed the total used for coca cultivation in Colombia, Peru and Bolivia combined. Afghan poppies, which start as flowers in farmers' fields and often wind up as heroin on U.S. streets, fuel a $3 billion a year industry in Afghanistan. The industry is filling the coffers of the Taliban, the group who gave safe haven to al Qaeda before and after 9/11, and it is destabilizing the Afghan government. (CNN) This investigative report was done using the figures from 2005, since then the figures from 2006 have been released and are much higher. After our many decades of fighting this same war on illegal drugs; it would be safer, faster and much cheaper to end this war by legalizing the drugs. The worst resistance would come from the drug cartels world-wide and the terrorist networks in the Middle-East and Mexico. Without the illegal drug industry funding the terrorists, this global war on terror could end much sooner, and our own boarders would be easier to guard. At the same time for just a few more years (not decades) the United States would still have to continue clearing up the mess by the once illegal drugs; the same way as usual, with tax-payer funded drug rehabs, including heroine or methadone babies and their lifetime medical costs etc… Our society needs to get more faith in itself because in the Middle-East where it is much easier to get heroin than it is to get clean drinking water; they are not a society of drug addicts. This would also cut off the funded government corruption in the Middle East, Mexico, and the United States. In time this will also solve many other problems in our economy especially the cost, and availability of health care. The repercussions this would help to create for a few years (not decades) is one of the best examples of why our forefathers emphasized so strongly on the necessity of separation between the church and state. We should take one-third of the drug rehabs in the U.S. and turn them into hospice units for the “drug challenged”.

Jillian
November 11, 2008 6:41 PM

Finally, an ounce of common sense!! ;) We need to end the federal marijuana prohibition and control marijuana with the *same laws* we use for alcohol. No more drug dealers in our schools, no more easy access to marijuana by minors, no more law enforcement being pitted against the general public. This is our future when we control marijuana with the same laws we use for alcohol.

laserblazer
November 18, 2008 6:51 PM

And thanks to Bush, Wall Street and Mitt Romney, we can't afford any pot for quite a while.