Pubdate: Fri, 04 May 2012
Source: Herald News, The (Fall River, MA)
Copyright: 2012 The Herald News
Contact:  http://www.heraldnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3604

LOCAL POT LAWS SHOULD RESPECT WILL OF VOTERS

Massachusetts has voter initiative for a reason: It gives citizens 
the power to directly decide laws. When voters decide an issue at the 
ballot box, their say should be final unless it's formally repealed.

A 2008 ballot question's approval by 65 percent of Massachusetts 
voters made possession of one ounce or less of marijuana a 
noncriminal offense, punishable by a $100 fine. In Fall River, the 
question passed with about 60 percent of the vote - 16,620 in favor 
to 12,077 against. A clear majority of Bay State voters said that 
they wanted to put an end to marijuana prosecutions involving small possession.

Some Massachusetts governmental officials - led by law enforcement - 
don't agree. Even before the law passed, they were sounding alarms 
about a potential sharp increase in public pot smoking and the affect 
it might have. Now they continue making anecdotal claims to persuade 
local officials and the public to essentially overturn the law on a 
local level. Is that truly the case? While public pot smoking may 
still be taboo, should it be criminal? Do residents really believe 
it's created a "perception of rampant lawlessness," as Fall River 
City Councilor Eric Poulin claimed?

Under the 2008 law, if someone is found in possession of one ounce or 
less of pot (no matter where they are caught), police issue a civil 
citation. The violator has 21 days to either pay the $100 civil 
penalty or request a court hearing. The marijuana is also 
confiscated. Violators younger than 18 may be subject to other 
penalties, such as attending a drug awareness program. With the 
decriminalization law, police still have the right to investigate 
driver impairment and criminal activity. But, apparently, that's not 
enough for some law enforcement officials, who want to continue the 
marijuana policies of the past.

Law enforcement officials, in conjunction with city and town 
officials, have made the case for local ordinances and bylaws in many 
Massachusetts municipalities. Fall River, where Poulin asked the Law 
Department to draft the ordinance after police identified it as a 
priority issue - is the latest. Salisbury, Arlington, Wrentham, 
Yarmouth, Hopkinton, Lenox, Littleton, Medway, Mendon, Marlboro and 
Nantucket have approved similar legislation. Poulin said that Fall 
River prohibits public drinking of legal alcohol, so why should 
still-illegal (but decriminalized) marijuana be treated differently?

Selectmen in Middleboro this week voted to place a bylaw on the June 
11 Town Meeting warrant that would set a $300 local fine for smoking 
marijuana in public. At a public hearing in Middleboro on Monday, no 
one spoke out against the increased fines. In communities where 
voters have a direct say at Town Meeting, at least those who voted 
for the ballot question have a right to decide if public pot smoking 
is a problem. In cities like Fall River, where the City Council makes 
the final determination, voters do not have that ability.

The drafted Fall River ordinance would be similar: Making public 
"marihuana" smoking a violation of local law, punishable by a $300 
fine, in addition to the civil infraction and $100 fine under state 
law. It would also compel violators to provide their true name, 
address and date of birth (which law enforcement claims is a loophole 
in the voter-approved law). It also has the troubling caveat that it 
may be "enforced through any lawful means in law or in equity 
including, but not limited to, enforcement by criminal indictment or 
complaint ..." The ordinance would seem to authorize police to pursue 
penalties up to and including arrest.

The 2008 ballot initiative decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana 
was a direct citizen rebuke of government marijuana prohibition 
policies, which had clogged the courts, consumed police resources and 
treated a relatively minor infraction as a serious crime. These days, 
public sentiment appears to be tipped more in favor of marijuana legalization.

Massachusetts does not want or need more "Reefer Madness"-era scare 
tactics. The voters made that clear four years ago. Law enforcement 
and public officials in Fall River and municipalities across the 
state would do well to remember that, and respect the will of the 
voters, not circumvent it.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom