Pubdate: Thu, 27 Mar 2008
Source: Boston Globe (MA)
Copyright: 2008 Globe Newspaper Company
Contact:  http://www.boston.com/globe/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/52
Author: Tom Long
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

BILL TO DECREASE POT FINES IS STALLED

Little Support From Senate, Governor

When the New Hampshire House of Representatives voted to 
decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana, it was 
the first time the legislative body approved reducing the penalty for 
having pot.

But the bill is unlikely to become law. It appears to have little 
support in the Senate, and Governor John Lynch has said he'd veto the 
bill if it reaches his desk because it sends the wrong message to the 
state's young people about the dangers of drugs.

"Our representatives in the House did the right thing for New 
Hampshire - and especially for New Hampshire's young people," Matt 
Simon, executive director of the New Hampshire Coalition for Common 
Sense Marijuana Policy, said last week. "It's time for the Senate to 
finish the work we've started here and bring some sanity to our 
marijuana sentencing policies."

The bill would make the possession of a quarter of an ounce or less 
of marijuana a civil violation that would carry a maximum $200 fine, 
instead of a criminal misdemeanor that may result in up to a year in 
jail and fines of up to $2,500.

Though the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee 
recommended against passage of the law, the bill passed the full 
House, 193 to 141, on March 18.

In Massachusetts, two bills are before the Legislature that would 
decriminalize the possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, and 
another bill would allow the drug to be used for medical reasons.

Also, Representative Barney Frank said last week that he intends to 
file a bill in the US House to legalize "small amounts" of marijuana.

Nobody was more surprised when the New Hampshire House passed the 
bill than Jeffrey Fontas, the 21-year-old Democrat from Nashua who 
cosponsored the legislation.

"Many people told us that it wouldn't pass, but it did. I think it 
was because of the way we framed the argument. Mistakes early in 
life, like a possession charge, can be devastating to the futures of 
our young people," he said, adding that a single drug arrest can lead 
to the loss of a college scholarship, the ability to serve in the 
military, and the chance to qualify for subsidized housing and food stamps.

Representative David Welch, a Republican from Kingston and a member 
of the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee who voted 
in favor of the bill, said it's a generational issue.

"I think if all the House members were under 30, it would be a slam dunk."

Welch, who is serving his eleventh term in the House, said he has 
never used drugs, "except aspirin," and feels there are a lot more 
dangerous products on the market: alcohol and cigarettes, for instance.

"I think alcohol abuse does a lot more damage. . . . Not only that, 
but we tax alcohol. It's not as if it's a large amount of marijuana 
we're talking about here. It's only enough to make seven or eight 
cigarettes," he said. "People - young people in particular - do 
stupid things, and I don't think they should be penalized for life."

Fontas said he is not disheartened by a lack of support for the bill 
in the Senate.

"The so-called experts said the bill didn't have a chance in the 
House, but many members voted for it after they heard what we had to 
say. Who knows what might happen in the Senate if we have another 
open discussion of the issue?"
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom