On the heels of a House rewrite Wednesday of the state's adult-use recreational marijuana law, approved by voters in November, local reaction has been mixed. Increasing the tax rate on marijuana sales from 12 percent to 28 percent and allowing local governing boards to ban or limit pot stores without asking local voters are among the more significant changes in the House bill. On Thursday, the debate over reshaping the law shifted to the state Senate, where a more modest set of revisions to existing law appeared headed for passage. [continues 925 words]
Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. said he's usually not too critical of decisions by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, but he described last week's 5-2 ruling - that police can't pull over drivers after detecting the odor of marijuana coming from the cars - as "horrible." The state high court's decision stemmed from a 2012 police stop in New Bedford; the driver had not committed any traffic violations, but an officer smelled marijuana smoke from the car. When stopped, the driver had a marijuana cigar in his hand, and police later found 60 Percocet pills in the car, leading to more severe charges. [continues 848 words]
The local law-enforcement community says it is bracing for additional DUI-marijuana cases, which are hard to prove. At issue is what they say is the potential for greater access to pot in Massachusetts because of this year's introduction of medical marijuana facilities, the 2009 decriminalization of an ounce or less of street-level marijuana, and a possible statewide ballot question to legalize it outright. That there is no program or training for law enforcement to consistently detect marijuana use adds to the potential problem, officials said. [continues 1125 words]
A new bill in the state legislature may amend New York drug laws to make it easier for drug offenders to receive treatment instead of prison sentences. The bill to reform the Rockefeller drug laws, named for former governor Nelson Rockefeller who enacted the laws in 1973, passed in the New York State Assembly last Wednesday by a vote of 96 to 46. Current laws require mandatory prison sentences for the sale and possession of illegal drugs depending on the weight of the drugs involved. Medical treatment for offenders is granted only with the prosecutor's consent. [continues 228 words]
BRIAN LEE, 104 Woodfield Road, Hadleigh, Essex SS7 2ET. [end]
