Massachusetts has two medical marijuana bills; one in the state House and one in the state Senate, which if passed into law would enable patients and care providers to enter into a legally protected public health registry and to access, grow, provide and/or use marijuana as medicine for serious, debilitating conditions.

This reflects the widely polled voters of Massachusetts' majority opinion that our problem is not with people smoking marijuana, but with the ongoing wasteful expenditure of sorely needed public funds to persecute marijuana users, some unknown number of whom are desperately ill and suffering.

We've instructed our legislators to act with compassion and legalize medical marijuana.

Rachel Neulander

Amherst

[end]

For the time being, Massachusettsians 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.

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.

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In an effort to control marijuana use, Colorado legislators are proposing a DUI blood-content level to control high drivers. Because medical-marijuana use has increased in the state, lawmakers want to ensure users aren't taking advantage of the registry despite the opposition which argues that this is just another step toward legalization in its similarity to alcohol guidelines.

If the rules are implemented, high drivers will receive DUIs if they test positive for five or more nanograms of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive substance in marijuana, within two hours of being pulled over. In other words, users would have to be placed in some sort of limbo while officers determined their level of cannabinoid intoxication. This could be tricky for police departments and jailhouses employees who might not be trained in understanding more long-term marijuana effects, which would result in a waste of time and resources.

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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.

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Gov. Patrick Proposes Changing a Policy Critics Say Is Unfair and Ineffective.

The only thing new about Gov. Deval Patrick's recent proposal to shrink so-called "drug-free" school zones in Massachusetts is his support.

For years, advocates of criminal justice reform have been critical of the school zone law, which carries mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes that take place within 1,000 feet of school property. While the law was passed in the name of public safety and the protection of children, critics say it's so broadly drawn that it's ineffective, and that it unfairly penalizes certain defendants on the basis of where they live.

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Dear Editor,

Regarding Gregory Beach's Feb. 1 op-ed "The war on drugs is a failure": There is a middle ground between drug prohibition and blanket legalization. Switzerland's heroin maintenance program has been shown to reduce disease, death and crime among chronic users. Providing addicts with standardized doses in a clinical setting eliminates many of the problems associated with illicit heroin use.

The success of the Swiss program has inspired heroin-maintenance pilot projects in Canada, Germany, Spain, Denmark and the Netherlands. If expanded, prescription heroin maintenance would deprive organized crime of a core client base. This would render illegal heroin trafficking unprofitable and spare future generations of addiction.

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It's commendable that state rep. Ellen Story ("Western Mass. Legislators File Marijuana Reform Bill," Feb. 3, 2011) believes Massachusetts should lead the nation to finally ending reefer madness. It's starting to look like a healthy race between Washington, Colorado, California, Oregon. Massachusetts and others to see which state legalizes the superplant first. Another reason to stop caging, punishing and persecuting responsible adults for using cannabis (marijuana) that doesn't get mentioned is because it is Biblically correct since God, The Ecologician indicates He created all the seed-bearing plants, saying they are all good, on literally the very first page (see Genesis 1:11-12 and 29-30).

Stan White Dillon, Colorado

[end]

I AM thrilled that Governor Patrick is attempting to change the law that now mandates a minimum two-to 15-year sentence for dealing drugs within 1,000 feet of a school ("The too-long arm of the law," Editorial, Feb. 1). This well-intentioned law simply does not serve its original purpose.

Anyone dealing drugs in the city is almost always within 1,000 feet of a school; however, this is not true in suburban or rural areas. So, a city dweller selling a small amount of marijuana to another adult in his or her own home would be subject to prosecution, while someone in a suburban or rural area would not.

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A Tufts chapter of the international organization Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), which formed last semester and is holding its first event tonight, aims to raise a debate on the nation's drug policies and hopes to stoke support for changes to how drug use is perceived and prosecuted at the university, state and even national level.

SSDP provides a forum for students seeking to initiate discussion on drug abuse and propose changes to their community's existing drug policies.

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In the November election, voters in a number of Massachusetts districts sent a message that they're ready to see dramatic changes in the commonwealth's marijuana laws.

In nine legislative districts around the state (including the 1st Franklin and 3rd Hampshire districts), a majority of voters approved public policy questions calling for marijuana to be taxed and regulated by the government, in the same way alcohol is. In addition, voters in nine districts (including, locally, the 1st Hampden) approved public policy questions calling for medical marijuana to be available to patients on a doctor's recommendation.

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As you walk around Tufts, it is likely that you will overhear several conversations regarding drugs. For some, it may be regaling tales of shots taken and beers "shotgun'd." Others may be doting praise upon the stimulants that kept them trucking through finals. And, of course, conversations on the artistic merit of glassware and the dankness of a particular plant are a constant in certain circles. Affecting one's mental state through mind-altering substances is embedded in the human experience, being particularly prominent among college students. This enthusiasm suggests the potential for more comprehensive dialogue, one that critically examines the United States' war on drugs and the complementary, unsustainable growth of the American prison-industrial complex. If we are to create a more perfect union, one that is both just and cost-effective, we must reform the broken institution of the American prison system. For the sake of our wallets and our souls, something needs to be done.

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In your view that "Rhode Island can learn from Mass. pot laws" you assert that any Rhode Island decriminalization legislation must address three supposed defects in Massachusetts' law. These defects only exist in the minds of law enforcement who, having lost the power to handcuff people for possessing marijuana, continue to wage a campaign against the new law.

Although Massachusetts' law does "not require offenders to correctly identify themselves or show identification," as a practical matter this does not prevent police from enforcing the law, as most possession offenders are captured - as before passage of the initiative - because they committed another crime for which they may still be handcuffed and are required to correctly identify themselves. Furthermore, those who would remain silent or give a false name are very rare, as the natural response when asked by a man with a badge and gun your name and address is to provide it. The claim the law does not "provide a way to force them to pay the fines" is false. The offense being a civil matter a small claim's complaint is the collection mechanism.

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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.

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Mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes that don't involve guns or children would be repealed, giving more discretion to judges, and certain drug offenders serving mandatory minimums in state prison would be eligible for parole after serving half their maximum sentence, under legislation Gov. Deval Patrick plans to file with his budget Wednesday.

Patrick's plan will retain mandatory minimum sentencing for drug offenders who use a gun in connection with the crime and those who exploit children. Offenders convicted of crimes that did not involve violence, who did not possess a gun and who did not target children would become eligible for parole after serving half their sentences.

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Legislation filed this week by Rhode Island Rep. John Edwards, D-Tiverton, to decriminalize possession of up to one ounce of marijuana has already gotten quite a bit of attention.

Edwards says that he filed the legislation, which would be similar to the marijuana decriminalization law approved by Massachusetts voters in 2008, in order to save the state money and to save lives from being destroyed as a result of a youthful - and relatively harmless - indiscretion.

Enactment of this legislation would bring Rhode Island's laws into parity with those in neighboring Massachusetts. Currently, if someone were to be caught with an ounce or less of pot in Taunton, they would receive a $100 ticket. If they were caught over the state line in, say, East Providence, they would be charged with a misdemeanor, have to go to court, fined between $200 and $500 and could even be thrown in jail for up to a year. Those convicted may also be sentenced to drug education classes and up to 100 hours of community service for a first offense.

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RE "HOMICIDE fight centers on drug trade" (Page A1, Jan. 12): During a raid of a suspect's Dorchester home, one detective, spotting a child, says, "Let him sleep. Because he'll never forget it." You can bet that 4-year-old will never forget seeing his father dragged off and his house ransacked. One of every three African-American males born today will have similar contact with the legal system, mostly because of the so-called war on drugs, a trillion-dollar, multi-decade crusade that has made no dent in either the supply of or the demand for drugs.

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With a Rise in Dealer-Related Killings, Special Unit Goes After Those With Gun Records

Sergeant Detective Al Terestre stood before four police officers inside the Dorchester district station on a recent December morning and explained the day's mission.

Their target was Victor Kipping - 6-foot-5, 300 pounds, with a gun record - who, according to one of Terestre's informants, was dealing marijuana out of his home.

"He's no slouch," Terestre warned the drug unit officers crowded in the squad's cramped office. "He's a big guy. He's got a violent past."

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There is a big difference between condoning marijuana use and protecting children from drugs ("Marijuana violence," Telegram & Gazette, Dec. 14). Decriminalization acknowledges the social reality of marijuana and frees users from the stigma of life-shattering criminal records. What's really needed is a regulated market with age controls.

Separating the hard and soft drug markets is critical. As long as organized crime controls marijuana distribution, so-called marijuana-related violence will continue and consumers will continue to come into contact with sellers of hard drugs like cocaine and heroin. This gateway is a direct result of marijuana prohibition.

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This is regarding the editorial, "Marijuana violence" (Telegram & Gazette, Dec. 14). The T&G's attempts to lay blame for the recent violence on marijuana are actually quite lame. When was the last time we read of violence occurring because someone tried to steal some alcohol from a bootlegger? Prohibition? Probably. The violence occurs because marijuana is still illegal to sell and buy. Legalize it and the violence will end, just as it has where alcohol is involved.

The T&G should have titled the editorial, "Mainstream violence," because it is mainstream thinking about marijuana that leads to its criminalization and, hence, to violence.

Peter Schultz

[end]

The drug war is largely a war on marijuana smokers ("With billions wasted, war on weed is pound foolish," Dec. 19). In 2009, there were 858,405 marijuana arrests in the U.S., almost 90 percent for simple possession. At a time when state and local governments are laying off police, firefighters and teachers, this country continues to spend enormous resources criminalizing Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis. The result of this ongoing culture war is not necessarily lower rates of use.

Decriminalization is long overdue. Taxing and regulating marijuana would render the drug war obsolete.

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