Hanover - Unlike the recent state primary, which drew only 12.8 percent of Hingham voters, the Nov. 4 State/Presidential election and controversial ballot questions are expected to attract a larger crowd.

First, there's the contest between Presidential candidates Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama.

Then there are the three controversial binding statewide ballot questions related to reducing and then eliminating the state personal income tax; decriminalizing marijuana use and instituting a new system of civil penalties; and prohibiting dog races on which betting or wagering occurs. There is also a non-binding wind power question that will be on the ballot in several South Shore communities, including Hingham. (See information box.)

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A Pembroke tobacco shop, under fire for selling what police regard as drug paraphernalia, has been handed a favorable court ruling. Karen Brennan Fontana, owner of Brennan's Smoke Shop on Church Street, said Pembroke police "picked the wrong shop" to target in enforcing the state's drug paraphernalia law.

"This is my livelihood, and I'm not doing anything wrong," said Fontana. "They're portraying me as a head shop, and I am not. I'm a legitimate smoke shop." She added, "I'm not going anywhere."

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DA's Office Drops Charges

For the most part, all parties walked away satisfied. The Plymouth County District Attorney's office decided last week not to pursue criminal complaints against two Spencer's Gifts employees who were arrested in January for selling drug paraphernalia at the store in the Hanover Mall. Charges against [Name redacted], 17, for selling a hookah to an undercover Hanover police officer were dropped after agreements were reached between Spencer's Gifts corporate counsel, the Hanover Police Department and [Name redacted]'s attorney George McElroy. The DA's office also filed a Nolle Per Sequi, a provision of Massachusetts Trial Law that allows prosecutors to elect not to pursue criminal cases prior to arraignment, for 18-year-old [Name redacted], who was working as an assistant manager at the store when she and [Name redacted] were arrested Friday, Jan. 13. In both cases, charges were never officially filed and will therefore not be a matter of record.

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Mary Smith of Concerned Citizens For Drug Prevention, Inc., misleads readers with her comments on needle exchange programs (Hanover Mariner, Jan. 18).

Needle exchange programs are supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Academy of Sciences, the American Medical Association, the American Bar Association and the American Public Health Association. They have been proven to reduce the spread of HIV without increasing drug use. Needle exchange programs also serve as a bridge to drug treatment for an especially hard to reach population.

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Regarding Mary Smith's not-so-thoughtful oped: "Vote 'no' on drug Use, Bill H4176" (1-18-06), my question for Smith: Why does she want recreational drugs to remain completely unregulated, untaxed and controlled by criminals? Only legal products of any kind can be regulated, controlled and taxed by any government.

I'd like to add that if tough-on-drugs policies worked, the quixotic goal of a drug free America would have been reached a long time ago. And if tolerant drug policies created more drug use, the Netherlands would have much higher drug usage rates than the United States. They do not.

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Friday the 13th certainly proved unlucky for two South Shore teens working at the Hanover Mall.

On Friday afternoon, Hanover Police arrested two Spencer Gifts employees and seized 28 hookahs - large smoking devices of Middle Eastern origin - from the Hanover Mall store.

[Name redacted], of Halifax and Assistant Manager [Name redacted], of Braintree were taken into custody and charged with violation of laws prohibiting the sale or distribution of any item that, according to state law, one should reasonably know "will be used to inject, ingest, inhale or otherwise introduce into the human body a controlled substance." Hookahs are legal in the U.S. much the same way pipes and rolling papers are legal. Traditionally, hookahs are used to smoke sweet and flavored tobacco. The arrests were made a day after Hanover Narcotics Officer Jonathan Abban conducted an undercover operation at the store, during which [Name redacted] sold him a hookah and, according to police, gave Abban advice on how to smoke marijuana with it. The operation led to a search warrant which was issued by Hingham District Court, and executed the following day, Friday, by Abban and Hanover Lt. Walter Sweeney.

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In Massachusetts we have recently made some headway on changing the drunk driving laws. It was a long hard fight. We waited too long. It is now time for the public to inform our legislators that those who smoke marijuana, sniff cocaine, shoot heroin or ingest any other mind-altering illegal drug, should also not drive on our roads. They should be in rehabilitation and our young people should be hearing the facts and dangers of mind-altering drugs to encourage drug-free children. We cannot prevent drug use while promoting drug use. Any bill that makes illegal drugs or needles more available to addicts should not be passed into law for any reason. I refer to a bill at the State House (H4176) that will allow the sale of needles to anyone over the age of 18 without a prescription. This bill should not be passed. It is deceptive. It includes a 'rolled-in' bill (S1272) that allows the Department of Public Health to put needle give-away programs wherever it chooses, without the knowledge or consent of the people in the targeted communities.

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The Romney administration has eliminated funding for many prevention programs, including all of the funding for D.A.R.E. programs throughout Massachusetts.

Based on information and surveys from 1998, administration leaders claim that there is not enough data to show that spending tax payer's money on prevention education programs, D.A.R.E. specifically, works in Massachusetts.

Since the elimination of the $4.3-million state appropriated funding last year, more than 125 towns have been forced to reassign their D.A.R.E. officers and remove them from schools. Thankfully, many towns had the ability to tighten belts in other areas to keep the program in their schools.

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Hanover Alliance Plans Outreach to Teens, Parents

Getting more parents and students involved in the war against substance abuse by teens are just some of the goals being set by the Hanover Alliance for the Prevention of Substance Abuse (HAPSA).

Alliance officials say drug and alcohol use by local youths appears to be somewhat lower than by teens from nearby communities, but vigilance against it must continue. These observations are just some of the objectives HAPSA is noting as it marks its 20th anniversary.

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