This fall the voters in the 6th District will have an opportunity rarely afforded to them - a chance to directly inform their representatives of an opinion via a public policy question on the ballot.

The question is: "Should the state senator or representative be instructed to vote for a resolution requesting Congress repeal the federal prohibition of marijuana, as the 21st Amendment repealed national prohibition of alcohol, so that states may regulate it as they choose?"

The question is a reference to HR 2306, The Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011 introduced in congress by Ron Paul and Barney Frank. Massachusetts Representative Michael Capuano signed on as a co-sponsor last September, and the bill has significant bipartisan support.

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The Beacon Hill Roll Call records local senators' votes on three roll calls from the week of May 29-June 2. There were no roll calls in the House last week.

Table (Defeat) Legislation Legalizing The Sale Of Needles And Syringes (S 2512)

The Senate, 11-24, rejected a motion to table (defeat) a bill legalizing non-prescription, over-the-counter sale of hypodermic needles and syringes by pharmacists to anyone over age 18. Tabling a bill is generally tantamount to defeating it. The legislation would have required that all sales include an educational insert with instructions about the proper use, dangers and disposal of needles and the phone number of the state's AIDS and hepatitis C hotlines and Substance Abuse Information and Education Helpline.

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With substance abuse reaching epidemic proportions in Massachusetts, Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey recently unveiled a plan to fund additional treatment services, target methamphetamine sales and called for assistance to school districts that test students for drugs.

Massachusetts has some of the highest drug and alcohol abuse rates in the country. The Bay State ranks number one for Oxycontin and heroin use. In 1996, there were 200 opiate-related fatal overdoses, a number that jumped to 449 statewide in 2003. And among teens admitted for substance abuse treatment, they were experimenting with the drug at an average age of 13. There is no single reason behind the rankings, but Healey and other health officials said a persistent denial of the problem likely fuels its prevalence. The lieutenant governor shared the administration's plan with members of the Legislature's new committee on mental health and substance abuse before discussing it at scheduled press conference recently. "We cannot afford to wait any longer to take action on these items," Healey said. The administration's 93-page strategic plan focuses on identifying, treating and preventing drug use in schools.

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To the editor:

Because heroin is sold via an unregulated illicit market, its quality and purity fluctuate tremendously. A user accustomed to low-quality heroin who unknowingly uses near pure heroin will likely overdose. The inevitable tough-on-drugs response to overdose deaths threatens public safety. Attempts to limit the supply of drugs while demand remains constant only increase the profitability of trafficking. For addictive drugs like heroin, a spike in street prices leads desperate addicts to increase criminal activity to feed desperate habits. The drug war doesn't fight crime, it fuels crime.

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Michael Duffy meandered up Broadway. He knocked on door after door searching for just the right one to open. Once inside, he took whatever he could carry, CDs, DVDs, jewelry, money and sold it all for drugs. In Salem District Court on Monday, Jan. 31, Duffy shook his head as the prosecuting attorney outlined his actions.

Duffy is 19, and, according to his attorney, is addicted to Oxycotin and heroin. The Beverly resident admitted to breaking into more than 150 homes across the North Shore during a seven-month period. But we haven't even gotten our feet wet yet.

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A packed gymnasium of educators, police officers, clergy, parents and others took the first significant step together last week to begin a new battle against the escalating toll of heroin, Oxycontin and other opiates on Essex County. Among them were Mayor Bill Scanlon, Police Chief John A. Cassola, School Resource Officer Jeff Liacos and two of the Beverly drug detectives.

The gathering, arranged by District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett and Essex County Sheriff Frank Cousins, was the first of many public dialogues expected about dangerously addictive drugs that have killed dozens and hospitalized many more across the region in recent years.

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Heroin overdoses have taken the lives of seven people in Beverly over the past two years, and sent dozens more to the emergency room.

The statistics are staggering, say police.

In the past month, 28 people have been arrested on a variety of drug charges. Through this effort, police say several alleged heroin, Oxycontin and cocaine dealers on Pond Street were shut down. Local detectives arrested four purported dealers there. One of the dealers was reportedly responsible for selling heroin to a 50-year-old woman who overdosed on Knowlton Street. Although she survived, police charged her with possession of heroin.

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When the price of heroin increases in the region, the North Shore should brace for a crime wave, Essex County District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett told business leaders this week.

Speaking before members of the North Shore Chamber of Commerce, Blodgett said it is probably only a matter of time before heroin dealers ratchet up the price of heroin, from its current price of about $4 a bag.

And when that happens, addicted users will steal anything they can in order to pay for the drug, and to fuel their addition.

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I'm writing about Jon Holmes' thoughtful letter: "Marijuana Not A Gateway Drug" (11-04-04). I agree that marijuana itself is not a gateway drug, however the policy of marijuana criminalization probably produces a gateway to hard drugs.

Because marijuana is illegal, it is sold only by criminals. Criminals who may sell other, much more dangerous drugs, and who may offer free samples to their marijuana customers.

Marijuana is relatively benign, however marijuana criminalization is very dangerous. For the sake of our children, we need to regulate and control the sale and production of marijuana so that marijuana is only sold by licensed business establishments to adults only.

Only legal products can be regulated, controlled and taxed by our government.

Kirk Muse

Mesa, Ariz.

[end]

To the editors:

Your article "Voters to cast opinion on marijuana use" quotes Rep. Brad Hill as saying, "The only concern I ever had...is that it's a gateway drug."

So where is this "gateway"? No peer-reviewed professional or medical study has ever demonstrated it.

The U.S. Institute of Medicine, our top independent authority, states flatly: "There is no conclusive evidence that the drug effects of marijuana are causally linked to the subsequent abuse of other illicit drugs."

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One of the North Shore's worst-kept secrets was officially unearthed in September with Georgetown attorney Steve Epstein once again making his case for the decriminalization of marijuana in Massachusetts - a cause which he has personally overseen for more than two decades as a leader with the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition (Mass Cann) and the organizer of Boston's annual pro-pot festival, "The Freedom Rally."

Considering his ever-increasing reputation as one of the state's most outspoken marijuana advocates, smoking pot may be Epstein's thing, but make no mistake, his mind couldn't be clearer or more passionate when it comes to his thoughts on the state's current marijuana laws.

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