Pubdate: Thu, 18 Jun 2009
Source: New Haven Advocate (CT)
Copyright: 2009 New Mass Media, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.newhavenadvocate.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/291
Author: Andy Bromage
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

LOCALLY GROWN

Connecticut's Buzz Kill

Lawmakers called it "the blunt bill."

Connecticut landed at the center of the national debate on marijuana 
reform this year when two state senators from New Haven, Martin 
Looney and Toni Harp, proposed decriminalizing small amounts of pot possession.

Under the bill, anyone caught with less than an ounce of weed would 
have their mellow harshed with an infraction punishable by fines of 
$59 to $129 rather than a misdemeanor charge that could land you a 
year behind bars.

The benefits were threefold: the state would save $11 million by not 
prosecuting those pot cases and get $320,000 a year from new fines; 
offenders wouldn't have records permanently stained by low-level 
offenses; and prosecutors and police would be freed up to work on 
more urgent criminal cases.

The public liked the idea, telling pollsters by a 58-37 margin the 
reform should be made law. The legislature's Judiciary Committee 
passed the bill 24-14, with one Republican voting yes.

Then came the big buzz-kill: State Sen. Toni Boucher, a Wilton 
Republican who took a high-profile stand against a medical marijuana 
bill last year, vowed a long, drawn-out fight to block the 
legislation. An incensed pot advocate from the Connecticut chapter of 
the pro-legalization group NORML accidentally fired off a mildly 
threatening e-mail to Boucher, getting himself arrested and dealing 
the effort another setback.

Majority Democrats were split on the idea with some predicting it 
wouldn't pass the House or Senate. Rell's veto of the medical pot 
bill last year gave proponents additional pause. Ultimately the bill 
died when the clock ran out but Connecticut came closer than ever to 
passing reforms on pot policy.

Looney says the showing was impressive, noting that Massachusetts 
passed the law by referendum and not through the legislature. The 
fact it got through one hurdle here is meaningful, and Looney 
promises to reintroduce the bill next year.

"There's no indication that Massachusetts is paralyzed in a 
marijuana-induced haze," he says.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom