Pubdate: Wed, 27 Jul 2005
Source: Berkshire Eagle, The (Pittsfield, MA)
Contact:  http://www.berkshireeagle.com/
Address: PO Box 1171, Pittsfield, MA 01202
Fax: (413) 499-3419
Copyright: 2005 New England Newspapers, Inc
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

WORTHY TASK FOR PIGNATELLI

Good may come out of the Great Barrington drug trials in the form of 
increased awareness of the dangers of drug dealing and also, if state 
Representative William "Smitty" Pignatelli can gain enough backing, the end 
of  the mandatory two-year jail term for first-time offenders under the 
state's  school-zone law. The 1989 law is a hammer used to fix a complex 
issue, and its  worst feature is the mandatory two-year minimum, which ties 
the hands of judges.  A teen-ager caught selling marijuana deserves 
punishment, but a judge should be allowed to determine if that punishment 
should be probation, community service, drug rehabilitation or a 
combination. We hope the rest of the Berkshire delegation will join the 
Lenox Democrat in this  effort.
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MAP posted-by: Beth