But DAs Say Mass. 'Ahead of the Curve' Sentencing reform advocates hailed US Attorney General Eric Holder's call for lighter sentences for low-level drug offenders on Monday, saying a similar change in approach is needed in Massachusetts to end mandatory sentences and ease overcrowded prisons. In a major policy shift that he described as a "fundamentally new approach," Holder announced that federal prosecutors will no longer seek mandatory sentences for some nonviolent drug offenders, saying a "vicious cycle of poverty, criminality, and incarceration traps too many Americans." [continues 842 words]
The state attorney general's office Wednesday struck down Wakefield's ban on medical marijuana dispensaries, ruling that towns can regulate, but not prohibit the centers under state law. Such bans would frustrate the purpose of the medical marijuana law, passed by referendum last fall, that allows patients with certain medical conditions to obtain marijuana for medical use. "The act's legislative purpose could not be served if a municipality could prohibit treatment centers within its borders, for if one municipality could do so, presumably all could do so." [continues 256 words]
A measure to legalize medical marijuana in Massachusetts may have won decisive support at the ballot box this election, but communities across the Boston area are rushing to craft zoning regulations to limit where the drug dispensaries can be located, or in some cases ban them altogether, before the new law takes effect in January. Two suburbs north of Boston, Wakefield and Reading, have approved local bans, and nearby Melrose and Peabody are considering similar steps. Many other communities, including Framingham, Quincy, and Boston, are studying restrictions. [continues 941 words]
With Election Day just a month away, polls show strong public support in Massachusetts for a referendum that would legalize marijuana for medical use, joining 17 other states. But prosecutors and police are sounding alarms about the initiative, saying it is ripe for exploitation and would lead to more drug addiction and crime. While supporters say the law would strictly regulate who can dispense marijuana to people with painful medical conditions, law enforcement officials fear the system would be manipulated by drug dealers who would use nonprofit treatment centers as fronts for illicit operations. [continues 1082 words]
Abuse Of Dust-Off Can Prove Fatal, Authorities Say Generations of teenagers have sniffed common household products -- from glue to Whiteout to the propane in cigarette lighters -- for a cheap, easy route to intoxication. But the danger posed by the latest inhalant of choice, a common computer keyboard cleaner called "Dust-Off," has prompted area police to warn parents and teens that the "high" could be fatal. Inhaling the compressed gas can cause brain damage and heart failure by robbing the lungs of oxygen, authorities say. [continues 929 words]
