Pubdate: Wed, 07 Nov 2007
Source: Metrowest Daily News (MA)
Copyright: 2007 MetroWest Daily News
Contact:  http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/619
Referenced: http://sensiblemarijuanapolicy.org/
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Marijuana)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

COMMON SENSE AND MARIJUANA POLICY

A stream of witnesses brought a common sense approach to marijuana 
policy to a hearing on Beacon Hill this week. The current law making 
possession of small amounts of marijuana a criminal offense wastes 
money - $24 million a year, according to a Boston University study - 
and hurts people, especially young people, they testified. And after 
35 years of the war on drugs, it's hard to argue that the current 
policy is preventing people from using marijuana.

The bill before the Joint Mental Health and Substance Abuse Committee 
would impose a $250 civil fine for possession of less than an ounce 
of marijuana, freeing offenders of the criminal record that can close 
off access to jobs and student aid.

Nobody showed up to speak in opposition to the bill, but that doesn't 
mean there is clear sailing ahead. The state Legislature has been 
reluctant to vote on anything that might brand members as soft on 
crime, and a spokeswoman for Gov. Deval Patrick reiterated his 
campaign pledge to veto any decriminalization measure.

Patrick, who looks more like a conventional politician by the day, 
showed more common sense in endorsing bringing casinos to 
Massachusetts. While agreeing that gambling can be addictive, he 
recognized that, for most people, it isn't. A 10-year study by 
Harvard Medical School found that 3 to 5 percent of people will 
develop a gambling problem, which is another way of saying that for 
95 to 97 percent of the people, gambling is a harmless entertainment.

Can the same be said for marijuana? Yes, but alcohol is an easier 
comparison. Marijuana is far less addictive than booze and, strictly 
speaking, it's not addictive at all. It is less destructive to your 
liver and other organs than alcohol, nor is it as associated with 
violence, family break-up or other social ills. There is no known 
fatal dose of marijuana.

Alcohol prohibition failed because people finally admitted that, 
while alcohol is a problem for some people, it's a harmless 
entertainment for most. Marijuana prohibition is more punitive than 
alcohol prohibition ever was, since the Volstead Act never simple 
possession of alcohol illegal.

Consistency would argue that whether the vice in question is a hobby 
or a habit, drinking beer, smoking pot or playing poker is an 
individual decision, not something that should come with a prison sentence.

Consistency may be more than we can expect from our state 
Legislature. Rep. Ruth Balser, D-Newton, who has endorsed the 
marijuana decriminalization bill, is an opponent of legalizing 
casinos. A similar marijuana bill was approved by Balser's committee 
last year, but was never brought to the floor of either house for a vote.

In Massachusetts, as in other states, the public is way ahead of the 
politicians on marijuana reform.  Since 2002, voters in 30 House 
districts approved nonbinding ballot questions endorsing some form of 
decriminalization, often by wide margins. Activists are now 
circulating petitions to put an initiative decriminalizing marijuana 
possession on the statewide ballot in 2008.

Eventually, common sense will bring change to the state and nation's 
drug policies. The wonder is that it is taking so long.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake