New marijuana law paves way for de facto legalization

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New marijuana law paves way for de facto legalization

By Jaime L. Hartman Dec 19 2008, 07:20 AM

The decriminalization of the possession of small amounts of marijuana goes into effect on January 2 in Massachusetts, after winning approval in a statewide vote in November. Under the new law, anyone caught with an ounce or less of marijuana will owe a $100 fine instead of facing jail time and an arrest record.

David Capeless, president of the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association, told The New York Times that the law will result in de facto legalization of marijuana because it would prove too difficult to enforce and that proponents of the law knew that from the beginning.

One of several complicating factors is that Massachusetts state law bans the police from demanding identification for civil infractions. Wayne Samson, executive director of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, says he anticipates that many violators will lie about their identities. “You can tell us that you’re Mickey Mouse of One Disneyland Way,” Mr. Sampson told the newspaper, “and we have to assume that’s true.” (Pot smokers who get caught are expected to come up with some of the most inventive names the state has ever seen.)

Another concern is how officers will determine whether a suspect possesses more or less than an ounce of marijuana. Some imagine police carrying a scale around with them, but Bridgewater State College Police Chief David Tillinghast told the Daily News Tribune that that would be cumbersome and awkward. Tillinghast prefers to have officers trained to recognize what an ounce looks like, but no training has been offered by the state.

Supporters of the new law say that Massachusetts officials are exaggerating the challenges. Eleven states have decriminalized first-time possession of marijuana, though in most it is a misdemeanor, not a civil offense as it will be in Massachusetts.

Possession of an ounce or less of marijuana in Nebraska is punishable by a $300 civil fine and officials there say their process for handling cases has worked smoothly for three decades. In New York, possession of an ounce or less is a noncriminal violation but is still processed through the criminal system so that positive identity can be established.

Dan Bernath, spokesperson for the Marijuana Policy Project, predicts groovy times for all eventually. “I think the resistance has to do with dealing with something new,” he told The New York Times. “We’re pretty confident that once this gets going and the newness of it wears off, a lot of the apprehension will go away.”

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Read More: Public Health, Legislation, Massachusetts

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End the Prohibition
December 19, 2008 12:05 PM

Since when is the definition of legalization something that's "too difficult to enforce"? If that were the case then marijuana would already be legal since the prohibition itself is too difficult to enforce. It is impossible for law enforcement to eliminate marijuana from our country and to eliminate the drug dealers who sell it. They will NEVER achieve this goal, so does that mean that marijuana is already "de facto legalized" and we can tell the DEA to go home? haha..

Mike
December 21, 2008 2:06 PM

"De facto legalization" is perhaps the STUPIDEST thing ever written about the decrim bill in Massachusetts. I wouldn't be surprised if it came right out of Capeless' agape maw.

The fact is that marijuana, as the law stands now, can NEVER be "legal", de facto, or de jure.

The US is a signatory to the UN's drug control conventions. As these conventions are international treaties, they fall under the rule of Article 6 of the US Constitution. International treaties, such as the drug conventions, are, according to Article 6, as the "law of the land".

So, unless some things change DRAMATICALLY, there can NEVER be marijuana legalization.

But I'm glad to hear that Capeless has admitted defeat... although we're going to be going a little further in Massachusetts on this topic - Medical Marijuana.

Rach
January 2, 2009 3:28 PM

OK..Im not a political person at all..but I think that the people who made alcohol LEGAL and marijuana ILLEGAL are complete idiots. If a drunk person and a stoned person were to get in a car and drive, most likely the drunk person would get in a wreck or be harm to others. Drunk people are more likely to start fights, steal, and just do stupid stuff. People who smoke weed probably wouldnt be getting into any of these situations, unless they are just a dumb person, and if they are a dumb person, then their actions would not be caused by marijuana. Their actions would be caused by their own stupidity. LET THE PEOPLE SMOKE THEIR WEED. They aren't harming anybody. The world is just full of stupid people who think" Oh My God, Marijuana is legal, WHAT NEXT? Cocaine, Ex, blah blah blah" Well you know what I have to say to those people? SHOVE IT! because i personally believe that marijuana is the safest "Drug" if thats what you even want to call it. The people of massachusetts who voted for this law are very smart people! THANKS!!! One more thing...All those dollars spent to put marijuana smokers behind bars were a fricken waste! They could have been using that money on the meth dealers or the murderers but nooo they were too worried about the pot smokers who keep to themselves and dont cause any trouble...Soo now that the pot smokers have to pay for their actions instead of being criminalized, Massachusetts will come out WAY ahead. Every state should do this!