Pubdate: Thu, 06 Dec 2012
Source: Boston Herald (MA)
Copyright: 2012 The Boston Herald, Inc
Contact:  http://news.bostonherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/53
Note: Prints only very short LTEs.
Author: Laurel J. Sweet
Page: 12

COURT TO WEIGH COPS' LIMITS ON POT BUSTS

The Bay State may not have fully inhaled legalized pot yet, but the
courts are already getting a lungful - and today the Supreme Judicial
Court will pass around a series of THC-laden appeals that test the
limits of marijuana rights in Massachusetts, and how far cops can go
when they encounter green leafy substances.

When the smoke clears and the court's opinions are issued, they could
"have a substantial chilling effect on our ability to keep our
communities safe," predicted Wayne Sampson, executive director of the
Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association.

The SJC is being asked to interpret whether the 63 percent of the
electorate that voted in 2008 to decriminalize possession of an ounce
or less of marijuana to a $100 civil infraction did so with the intent
that cops back off the casual user entirely - even in situations where
a cop's gut instinct tells him pot isn't the only thing that smells
funny.

The four cases up for review include pot-prompted warrantless searches
of vehicles in Lynn and Dorchester that yielded concealed firearms;
whether it is still illegal to cultivate pot plants weighing an ounce
or less; and whether one can be frisked for suspected drug dealing for
sharing a doobie on Boston Common during Hempfest.

Speaking bluntly, Michael Cutler, a Bay State attorney for the
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said it seems
"silly" someone can do jail time for sharing a joint if police can't
touch them for enjoying it by themselves.

"Understand where the forces of history are headed," Cutler told the
Herald. "The future is legalization."

Matthew Segal, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of
Massachusetts, said, "The intent of the voters was to say, ' Hey,
police, if you find someone with marijuana, what we don't want is for
you to institute a criminal investigation against them."

Sampson countered, "The passing of one marijuana cigarette between two
persons is distribution. That does give an officer probable cause to
conduct a search to see if there is something more. We certainly don't
want to stifle good police work that would take drug dealers off the
street, or take weapons off the street, or stop gang violence. And I'm
sorry, but that's what police officers do on the street every day."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt