Pubdate: Fri, 28 Mar 2008
Source: Daily News Transcript (Needham, MA)
Copyright: 2008 GateHouse Media, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.dailynewstranscript.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3501
Author: Rick Ahrens, Daily News correspondent
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Marijuana)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

SHOULD MARIJUANA BE DECRIMINALIZED?

BOSTON -- State Sen. Patricia Jehlen thinks the state is wasting time 
and resources and unnecessarily harming people over small amounts of marijuana.

The Somerville Democrat wants to make possession of less than an 
ounce of marijuana a civil, rather than a criminal, offense. She is 
sponsoring a bill that would do just that.

"I think the public supports this idea, and the public wants the 
commonwealth's money to be spent more effectively," she said this week.

Her bill is now under review. It got a State House hearing earlier 
this month at the Bulfinch hearing chamber, which was jammed to 
capacity with legislators, the media and proponents of the idea.

Members of local motorcycle clubs in favor of decriminalization wore 
leather vests over shirts and ties as they shook hands with others 
who showed up in favor of the legislation.

Jehlen said public support for decriminalizing small amounts of 
marijuana is widespread and should not be ignored. In the senator's 
own district, 66 percent of those who expressed their preference in a 
referendum said they favor the idea.

Jehlen took up the issue of marijuana decriminalization when she 
found out that a constituent's husband was dying of stage-four 
melanoma and was only able to tolerate his treatments by using 
medical marijuana.

She said she is also concerned about the creation of criminal records 
for minor drug offenses that may prevent people from getting jobs and 
in other ways haunt them the rest of their lives.

"Every time a bill like this has gone to referendum in Massachusetts, 
it has passed," Jehlen said.

Jeffrey Miron, a professor of economics at Harvard who testified at 
the hearing, published a report last year analyzing the budgetary 
effects of marijuana decriminalization. Miron estimated that law 
enforcement would save about $29.5 million annually if the bill became law.

The report also includes data that suggests there has been no 
measurable increase in marijuana use in states and countries that 
have already decriminalized marijuana.

Using arrest data from Brockton and Barnstable, Miron said roughly 
one third of marijuana possession arrests involve only one charge. 
Those arrests were either for possession alone, or for possession 
that was discovered after an individual had been detained for a civil 
offense, like a traffic violation.

In 2006, about 1.9 percent - or 2,474 - of the 130,219 arrests in the 
commonwealth were for one-charge, marijuana-related offenses. Miron 
said those arrests would have been unnecessary under the 
decriminalization bill.

Miron did not estimate how state revenue would be affected by the use 
of a $100 civil fine for marijuana possession under one ounce versus 
current fines, which can go as high as $500. Currently, many 
offenders do not pay the fine. The possibility of that trend 
continuing makes any revenue changes difficult to predict.

Miron thinks the move to decriminalize marijuana is worth making.

"I support this bill because I think it is bad policy to criminalize 
marijuana, or any other drug," Miron said. "Anything that moves in 
this direction is a positive step, although in this case, a small step."

The argument over what is bad policy spurred passionate rebukes from 
opponents of the bill in the Legislature.

State Rep. Martin Walsh, D-Dorchester, blasted decriminalization 
supporters during his testimony at the March 18 hearing. While he had 
not read the current bill itself, he addressed general concerns about 
how marijuana affects urban communities like his district.

"My community is among those hit hardest by people using drugs," 
Walsh said. "There is no one sitting in our jails today who has been 
arrested for an ounce of marijuana. I don't think the bill makes 
sense, and I don't think it's good policy."

Walsh argued that marijuana is a gateway drug and that allowing the 
possession of small amounts of marijuana would be like allowing 
people to carry a small amount of heroin or OxyContin.

"I hope this legislation does not go anywhere, and I intend to do 
everything in my power as an elected official to fight this," he said.

Walsh said his stand is a matter of conscience, and he knows that not 
all of his constituents share his view. He acknowledged at the State 
House hearing, that in a decriminalization referendum 57 percent of 
those from his district who voted did so in favor of decriminalization.

Jehlen, the bill's sponsor, said she thinks her fellow legislators 
are "nervous" about coming out in support of the bill because they 
are afraid of being criticized for advocating drug use. She said 
decriminalizing marijuana would allow the criminal justice system to 
better use its resources fighting more serious crimes.

"This bill does not say it's OK to smoke pot," Jehlen said. "What it 
does is enforce our drug laws more effectively."

The Legislature has until May 6 to send the initiative to the governor. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake