There's been a huge controversy about the so-called dangers of marijuana and its legalization. Some states have legalized it, some have decriminalized it and others have made it entirely illegal to carry. The problem I see is that marijuana is proven to be a great stress and pain reliever, used medicinally for cancer patients, and has no death-related records, but it's not fully legalized in Massachusetts. However, alcohol is known to cause aggression, it's toxic to the body, has been responsible for thousands of deaths, yet its legal and found anywhere in stores and restaurants.

[continues 337 words]

TAUNTON - It's within the realm of possibility that Massachusetts could follow Colorado's example by legalizing the recreational use of marijuana. But the potential financial ramifications of such a move are unknown.

Sixty-five percent of Bay State voters, after all, voted in 2008 to decriminalize possession of cannabis to a civil offense, with a fine of $100 for being caught with an ounce or less.

Four years later, voters passed a ballot initiative legalizing the use of medical marijuana by a margin of 63 to 37 percent.

[continues 530 words]

Bill Downing was 15 when he first smoked marijuana. Downing said he then had the "instant recognition" that the prohibition against pot, or cannabis as he prefers to call hit, was a "huge social injustice."

"I was 15, and I knew it. And now everybody is finally realizing it," said Downing, a 58-year-old insurance broker who is treasurer of Bay State Repeal, a new volunteer organization looking to put a question on the 2016 ballot that will ask Massachusetts voters to legalize marijuana for recreational use.

[continues 1380 words]

In recent years, through ballot initiatives, Massachusetts has joined a number of states in decriminalizing the possession of less than one ounce of marijuana, making it a civil offense with a $100 fine. Four years later, 63 percent of the commonwealth's voters allowed the legalization and retail distribution of medical marijuana.

In Rhode Island, which does not have a voter initiative process, the General Assembly has passed similar laws through legislation. Now, following the lead of two western states - Colorado, which has recently begun retail sales of recreational pot, and Washington, which will do so next year - Massachusetts voters, on the 2016 ballot, may decide on the legalization of marijuana for recreational use.

[continues 417 words]

Not that it wasn't predictable, but the federal government, fueled by new Monitoring the Future data collected by the University of Michigan on behalf of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, is reporting a rise in the illicit use of marijuana among high school students.

Did we really believe the loosening of restrictions on marijuana sales, possession and use - including those related to "medicinal marijuana" - were to have no effect on those we have worked so hard to protect from the ravages of substance use condition and disorder? Not so much.

[continues 528 words]

I share with Stephen Gray Wallace the goal of "keeping young people safe, alive and in pursuit of the positive youth outcomes they seek." However, I question his understanding of the latest "Monitoring the Future" data concerning adolescent marijuana use reflected in his recent guest opinion.

Actually, the latest Monitoring the Future data admittedly reveals no statistically significant change over the recent past. Teen use remains well below the data point established in 1979.

This "sky is falling" worldview blames recent law reforms for an increase in teen use that does not exist. It ignores the Northwestern study author's conclusion that more study is needed to determine "whether cannabis use contributes to these observed shape differences or whether they are biomarkers of a vulnerability to the effects of cannabis that predate its misuse."

[continues 128 words]

Westport- Late last month, the U.S. Justice Department announced that it is "deferring its right to challenge" the Colorado and Washington initiatives that "tax and regulate marijuana like alcoholic beverages." The announcement and accompanying memorandum, coming after Senator Leahy announced Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on the conflict between federal and state law, signal the administration is willing to discuss marijuana law reform with Congress and the states.

As the conversation proceeds, three things are important to remember. First, as the department concedes, federal resources are inadequate to a task that "traditionally relied on state and local authorities." Second, no state in our federal system is required to address marijuana activity.

[continues 532 words]

Contrary to this newspaper's position that "the silence has been deafening from the majority of medical providers" ( Our View: "Respecting marijuana as medicine," March 3 ), physicians have been in the forefront of communicating their views on medical marijuana, both on the referendum and on the subsequent regulatory process.

The Massachusetts Medical Society, which has long supported reclassifying marijuana so it can be legally tested for safety and effectiveness, was highly vocal in opposing the referendum. We pointed out that marijuana has not been subjected to the same scientific testing as other drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration, that claims for its medical effectiveness have been anecdotal and not scientifically proven, and that smoking marijuana poses health risks, as marijuana smoke contains toxic substances as tobacco smoke does.

[continues 658 words]

When medical marijuana proponents used Massachusetts' voter initiative provision to successfully get a question on the ballot authorizing its use, it sparked an intense public debate over whether legalizing pot for medical purposes was wise public policy. Unfortunately, the debate sometimes involved more fear than facts.

Such tactics are par for the course in politics where facts are often rather loose. After all, both sides were trying to appeal to emotions to "win" voters over to their side. While some of the concerns raised by medical marijuana opponents are valid, others have little basis in reality and seem more based on questionable fear tactics than solid facts.

[continues 801 words]

WESTPORT - The BOLD Coalition - or Building Our Lives Drug-Free - held its eighth annual meeting at White's of Westport on Friday morning.

The group reflected on the past year's accomplishments, handed out a number of awards, and heard from a keynote speaker with views on the medical marijuana question on the Nov. 6 election ballot.

"We have much to celebrate since 2011," said Craig Gaspard, BOLD Coalition staff director.

The group - a substance abuse prevention coalition that is made up of youth, volunteers, educators, city government, and others - has offered prescription abuse outreach to senior citizens and schools in the past year and has helped to ban hallucinogenic chemical bath salts in the city.

[continues 482 words]

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.

[continues 590 words]

I am writing about the legalization of marijuana. I think marijuana should be legalized because even though it's illegal, people are still going to buy and use it anyway. I have never heard of someone dying due to the use of smoking marijuana.

More people have died using other drugs like crack, cocaine and alcohol. Alcohol causes more than 25,000 deaths a year in either traffic accidents or from other related causes.

Marijuana might cause other problems but nothing compared to any other type of drug. There are more than 29,000 recorded deaths related to drugs like meth, crack, cocaine, ecstasy and alcohol.

[continues 74 words]

I have been wondering why marijuana is not legal in the state of Massachusetts. It doesn't make sense to why we make such a big deal about that particular drug. There are worse things to worry about other than marijuana. Our economy would benefit greatly if marijuana was legal.

If it was legal, it could be sold in pharmacies or stores specialized in marijuana. It would be able to be taxed which in turn, helps the government, and it would take crime off the streets. A lot of people start to use marijuana because it is like being rebellious.

[continues 98 words]

BOSTON - The Cannabis Regulation and Taxation Act, proposed more than a year ago by Reps. Ellen Story (D-Amherst), Ruth Balser (D-Newton), Lori Ehrlich (D-Marblehead), and Ann Gobi (D-Spencer), finally gets a hearing Tuesday afternoon before the Judiciary Committee, which will have just two weeks to make a recommendation on it before the biennial bill-reporting deadline.

The bill (H 1371) creates industry licensing, regulation and taxation standards, and establishes a Cannabis Control Authority comprised of seven members and with an initial appropriation of $2.5 million. It leaves in place penalties for driving under the influence of marijuana.

[continues 152 words]

FALL RIVER - Following national trends, more city youths are experimenting with marijuana use, according to a survey of middle and high school students.

The survey of high school students found that the percentage reporting marijuana use within the past 30 days increased by 9 percentage points from a 2008 level of 22 percent. Among individual grade levels, the largest increase was among those in the junior class, with an increase from 24.1 percent in 2008 to 40.2 percent this year.

[continues 563 words]

FALL RIVER - Armed with the results of surveys related to health and risk behaviors conducted at the city's high and middle schools, the BOLD Coalition is considering the next steps to make Fall River a healthier place.

With the surveys showing increased use of marijuana, among other concerns, Staff Director Craig Gaspard said BOLD is planning to create a series of public service announcements aimed at prescription drug abuse. Gaspard said he hopes to have the advertisements run on local radio and public access television stations. Outreach could be expanded to other stations if grant funding can be secured.

[continues 394 words]

We would like to acknowledge our appreciation to U.S. Rep. Barney Frank for taking the time to visit and talk with a group of concerned citizens at Gallery X in New Bedford on his efforts to legalize marijuana.

This proposal, co-sponsored by Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, would federally legalize marijuana (cannabis) and let states make up their own laws on regulation, cultivation and distribution. Whether you agree or disagree, we should appreciate Rep. Frank for the courage of taking this proposition on and fighting for what he believes is just.

[continues 369 words]

For the time being, folks in both Massachusetts and Rhode Island can consider last November's defeat of Proposition 19, a California ballot initiative to legalize and regulate the personal use of marijuana, as none of their business. But as this debate spreads outward from California it will, sooner or later, reach Massachusetts, Rhode Island and the rest of New England.

Having started the war on marijuana, the federal government is the enforcer of the status quo -- even as opinion polls show the public's desire for change. So, it is up to the states, one-by-one, to replace failed drug war policies with something that makes sense. To see how the future marijuana legalization debate might spread, let's consider the work of professor Everett M. Rogers.

[continues 629 words]

The Afghanistan war sometimes seems interminable. It just became the longest hot war in U.S. history. Europe's Hundred Years War remains the world record holder, but things moved slower back then. Pentagon officials appear to dream of setting a new record in Kabul.

Meanwhile, our War on Drugs is quietly building its own longevity record. This war dates back to the Nixon administration and shows little sign of abating. The latest skirmish just concluded with California's failed pot referendum.

[continues 483 words]

Next month, California voters will consider the biggest change in drug policy since Congress made marijuana possession a criminal offense in 1937.

Proposition 19, if passed, will not just legalize marijuana possession, it will empower municipalities to regulate and tax it. The state Legislature won't be able to stop it. Any community looking to avoid a property tax hike could open up its own cannabis revenue stream.

Marijuana would still be against federal law, which would put the Obama administration in a quandary: Should they send an army of federal agents to enforce a law state and local police won't, or turn their backs and let Californians choose their own intoxicants?

[continues 295 words]