We're changing our minds about tobacco and marijuana. This week a Boston jury found it so disgusting that tobacco company Lorillard pushed free cigarettes on a 9-year-old in a poor neighborhood, they awarded crazy money to the estate of the now-dead Marie Evans. Jurors blamed Lorillard for hooking her as a child even though she died at 54 of lung cancer decades after everybody found out that smoking kills. This week we also learned that more high school seniors are smoking marijuana than cigarettes and that high schoolers viewed weed more favorably than tobacco. [continues 361 words]
An Ounce of Pot Does Not a Thousand Joints Make. Dear Gerry Leone: I sympathize. Truly, I do. The state chose to reform its marijuana laws by the half measure of decriminalization of small amounts rather than full legalization, and, no matter how tiny your stash is, you still can't spell "decriminalization" without "criminal." But, honestly, as Middlesex district attorney, you're going to have to do a better job making your case than you have done. When we voted in Question 2 - a.k.a. "The Snack Food Support Act of 2008" - a while back, we did so as an informed, if somewhat slow-moving, electorate uniquely aware of the subject at hand. (There are a lot of us who still own Wishbone Ash albums, if you know what I mean, and I think you do.) Nobody . . . er . . . blew smoke in our eyes. Therefore, your plaintive pleas of late have fallen on deaf ears or, at least, ears muffled by earbuds. At one point, you asked, "Can't anyone get through the day without a drink or a drug?" I believe that, in the former case, the United States of America answered the question rather definitively between the years 1920 and 1933. As to the latter case, there are several large pharmaceutical companies that would like a word with you. But you also argued that "an ounce of marijuana can make a thousand joints." Really? Where? In the Land of the Lost? You'd have to have leaves the size of a phone book to make this true. Do yourself a favor and relax. Have a potato chip. [end]
NEW BEDFORD - A synthetic marijuana that is legally sold as an herbal incense at convenience stores is drawing fire from health professionals and public officials concerned that more teens are becoming violently ill after smoking the substances. The various mixtures of herbs, plants and chemical compounds - popularly known as K2, K4, or K9 and sold in foil packets or vials - are about to be banned for one year while federal regulators determine whether the products should be classified as controlled substances. [continues 227 words]
NEW BEDFORD - A synthetic marijuana that is legally sold as an herbal incense at convenience stores is drawing fire from health professionals and public officials concerned that more teens are becoming violently ill after smoking the substances. The various mixtures of herbs, plants and chemical compounds - popularly known as K2, K4, or K9 and sold in foil packets or vials - are about to be banned for one year while federal regulators determine whether the products should be classified as controlled substances. [continues 763 words]
Worcester See Spate of Crimes Worcester has seen a spate of violent crimes associated with marijuana dealing and use this year, including murder, home invasions and assaults. The grim record of criminal activity is testimony to the destructive influence of a drug that is often portrayed by those who use it as a harmless recreation. It may be true that the majority of those who use marijuana do so in moderation and do not permit their habit to destroy their lives. But there is an insidious cost to society in such so-called harmless, personal use, nonetheless. Like any other product, marijuana must be grown by someone, harvested and sold. Those who use it are contributing to a drug culture whose ill effects are visible. [continues 124 words]
GEORGETOWN -- The Massachusetts Cannabis Convention resolved that "noncommercial cultivation for personal use is a human right and is not to be taxed" at a meeting in Georgetown last weekend. More than 50 marijuana reform activists from around the state attended the convention called by the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition (Mass Cann), a state affiliate of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. Before the resolution, those in attendance exchanged ideas on advancing marijuana law reform. Terry Franklin of Amherst spoke about FreedomBusCaravan,org, an activist plan for the presidential primary season in New Hampshire. [continues 150 words]
Dear Editor, If Michelle Durant and the University of Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition are going to make Massachusetts the first state (Mass. Supports Marijuana Reform Laws Statewide, Nov. 22, 2010) to legalize cannabis, you must get it in gear. California's Proposition 19 organizers are already planning another proposition for 2012 and Colorado also is preparing initiatives for 2012 to legalize cannabis. Washington, Oregon, Nevada and others may join in. Perhaps the next step is to make the effort to legalize the plant a race. There is some question as to which state will be first. Becoming the first state could appeal to America's competitive spirit and may help get cannabis legalized sooner. As a Colorado cannabis activist and citizen, I challenge Massachusetts, California and the rest of the states to a race to legalize cannabis. If I were a gamblin' man, I'd bet on Colorado by an hour. Truthfully, Stan White Dillon, Colorado [end]
Violence in the drug trade is due to the uncontrolled black market created by prohibition ("New pot law blamed as violence escalates," Nov. 15). When there are goods in demand, the market will supply them. If the market is underground and unregulated, violence occurs. To blame recent tragedies on the overwhelming passage of Question 2 is not only politically motivated by the district attorneys, who suffered a huge loss at the hands of common sense, it also misdirects the conversations we should be having about making our communities safer and healthier. Carol Rose, Executive Director ACLU of Massachusetts [end]
Although the reporting has improved in recent years, US media coverage of the "war on drugs" continues to ignore the economic realities of just who is fighting who in the conflict. The drug war is best understood as a battle of dollar versus dollar -- a bloody war between the dollars of US taxpayers and the dollars of US consumers. On one side, Americans pay large sums of money to vast networks of people who grow, process, ship, smuggle, defend, and deliver drugs to the US. On the other side, Americans also pay another network of people vast amounts to find, fight, arrest, and kill those whom we hire to provide the drugs to begin with. [continues 581 words]
State regulators took a step toward legalizing medical marijuana Wednesday, but supporters of the idea still face a long journey. The Iowa Board of Pharmacy voted 6-0 to propose legislation that would reclassify marijuana and make it easier to legalize the drug for medical purposes. However, if legislators accepted the proposal, they would also have to approve a separate medical-marijuana program. Several state leaders, including Gov.-elect Terry Branstad, have said they oppose such an idea. Pro-marijuana activist Carl Olsen of Des Moines applauded the board's vote. "All I know is I just won today," he said. "But how much did I win? I don't know." [continues 341 words]
From the Herald's coverage of the marijuana issue we learn that after almost two years under the new law it remains too soon to say whether decriminalization has caused more kids to need counseling and that Boston police have not learned to enforce the $100 citation ("Tokers blow smoke at pot fines, " Nov. 22). From the letters and online comments we learn that most people understand the solution is a legal commerce in cannabis. - - Steven S. Epstein, Georgetown [end]
Marijuana advocates and enthusiasts statewide rejoiced as Massachusetts saw success for approval of several marijuana reform public policy questions in 74 towns in the 2010 election. Voters in 18 districts across the state were asked nine questions on the use of medical marijuana and nine questions on the legalization and taxation of marijuana for distribution to the public. The questions showed that the majority of voters in Massachusetts are in favor of medical use and the repeal of prohibition on sales. [continues 752 words]
Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley hits the nail on the head when he acknowledges that wholesale distribution of any illicit substance yields violence and floods the community with illegal drugs ("New pot law blamed as violence escalates," Nov. 15). It's not the drugs, it's the policy. Supply and demand aren't going anywhere. End the prohibition and end the violence, legalize it so we can take it back from thugs that don't ask kids for ID. Bill Fried, Somerville The writer is program director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition [end]
Potheads who've found the grass is greener under the state's mellowed-out marijuana law have racked up as much as $64,500 in unpaid fines in Boston alone, thumbing their noses at hundreds of citations that cops have written up, but authorities are powerless to enforce. Now the City Council wants to smoke out the stoner scofflaws. "Everybody's laughing in the face of this thing. We need to find a way to tighten up the loopholes that are allowing precious dollars to escape," said Councilor Stephen J. Murphy, chairman of the committee on public safety. [continues 393 words]
Finally. That's what many in this region are saying in the wake of Thursday's dismantling of a local heroin distribution ring. Finally, after years of a devastating epidemic, we are hitting the dealers, and hard. Now, we can't let up. Twenty-five were arrested in what officials termed an "unprecedented" police operation. By all accounts, they weren't low-level street dealers, but those who supplied them. The arrests appear to be a big deal. More is needed. [continues 463 words]
Most drugs have side effects, but to claim that marijuana is more harmful than tobacco depends on how much of each is inhaled ("New pot law blamed as violence escalates," Nov. 15). Nobody smokes cigarettes for medical reasons, but marijuana may be recommended by doctors to those on chemotherapy or suffering with HIV. Legalization is meant to reduce the number of drug pushers and gang murders, to increase state revenues and to help chronically ill patients. Prohibition won't prevent substance abuse. My uncle, aunt and cousin died from respiratory illnesses from smoking tobacco, not weed. Joseph Young [end]
Apparently history has no lessons (Nov. 15). The legendary explosion of violence in the 1920s was caused not by the decriminalization of alcohol but by the criminalization of alcohol. It was not cured by redoubling enforcement but by re-establishing a legal and regulated industry. Had the nation continued Prohibition, the Herald today would be reporting stories of murders caused by alcohol deals gone bad and disputes among bootleggers while piously cautioning its readers that drinking a beer is "not a victimless crime." Andy Gaus, Boston [end]
Many have sadly witnessed relatives and friends who used marijuana and other "harmless recreational drugs" and later experienced serious medical difficulties, even death ("Dangers of abuse sobering," Nov. 2). Long-term effects of these drugs are not known, but you can logically conclude that they won't be positive. It is not politically correct today to say that marijuana is harmful. The sad reality is, however, it is more harmful than smoking tobacco. Yet many states - Massachusetts, California and others - are looking to make marijuana more legal and accessible. This is very hypocritical, as well as being illogical. Al DiLascia, Chicopee [end]
The passage of Proposition 19 in California would have marked the beginning of the end of the drug war in the United States. Sadly, the ballot initiative failed, but even the fact of it making it to the ballot, not to mention garnering over 40 percent of the vote in a non-presidential election year is a success. Even if we have not the found the beginning of the end, we have started chipping away at the mentality that led us to this irrational and immoral place. [continues 668 words]
Two years ago Massachusetts voters decided it was no biggie if an adult wanted to smoke the occasional joint, and voted to make possession of less than an ounce of marijuana a civil, not a criminal, offense. It all sounded so chill, dude. But in addition to the fact that those civil penalties are almost impossible to enforce, pot-related trafficking and violence have been going up since passage of Question 2, which is frankly no surprise. Decriminalization is driving demand. Demand is driving the supply. And trafficking of the supply drives crime. [continues 148 words]
Today's teens may not be big on news, but they're very much up on the state's decriminalization of recreational marijuana, a psychologist and author specializing in substance abuse and addiction told the Herald. "Certainly we've heard from kids, 'Hey, it's not illegal,' " said Michael Levy, vice president of clinical services for CAB Health and Recovery Services. Some teens' perception of pot is that decriminalization has "normalized" it and made it seem "less deviant," Levy said. "They like the high. It's fun. It's a social thing. (They say) it calms them down, makes them less aggressive, breaks up boredom. 'What's the big dealUKP' " [continues 216 words]
Since recreational marijuana use was decriminalized in Massachusetts last year, pot-related trafficking and violence have escalated across the state, frustrated law enforcement officials tell the Herald. Smoking weed is not a victimless crime, they say. "We knew it was going to be a nightmare for public safety and law enforcement. An ounce of marijuana can make a thousand joints," Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. said. "Question 2 perpetuated a feeling that marijuana is somehow safer than other drugs. It's another mind-altering substance. What are we doing in this country? Can't anyone get through the day without a drink or a drug?" [continues 670 words]
California voters shot down Proposition 19 last week, but the campaign put full marijuana legalization on the table. Its supporters plan to come back to the voters in 2012. Massachusetts voters sent a quieter message on the same topic. Ballots in 18 legislative districts included non-binding questions on marijuana. Half of the questions asked legislators to support legalizing use of marijuana for medical purposes, the other half supporting the regulation, cultivation, sale and taxation of marijuana. The results were consistent across the state: Voters said "yes," by margins ranging from 54 percent to 70 percent, the Associated Press reports. Locally, voters in Hudson, Maynard, Stow, Sudbury, Wayland, Lincoln and Dover supported full legalization. Voters in Bellingham, Medfield, Blackstone and Uxbridge supported legalization for medical use. In every local district, at least 60 percent of voters supported the propositions. Drug policy reform advocates in Massachusetts have been putting marijuana-related questions on the ballot since 2000. Each time, the question has asked state legislators to help write the reforms into law. Out of 63 ballot questions, voters have approved all 63, but the Legislature has yet to bring any reform bill to the floor for a vote. [continues 380 words]
California voters shot down Proposition 19 last week, but the campaign put full marijuana legalization on the table. Its supporters plan to come back to the voters in 2012. Massachusetts voters sent a quieter message on the same topic. Ballots in 18 legislative districts included non-binding questions on marijuana. Half of the questions asked legislators to support legalizing use of marijuana for medical purposes, the other half supporting the regulation, cultivation, sale and taxation of marijuana. The results were consistent across the state: Voters said "yes," by margins ranging from 54 percent to 70 percent, the Associated Press reports. [continues 477 words]
The elections have shown a (predictably) divided nation when it comes to regulating/ending the illogical and costly prohibition of marijuana. Although the nonbinding Question 5 did not make it onto my precinct's ballot, I could not be more proud of my town for voting 62 percent to 38 percent in favor of the regulation and taxing of marijuana. On the other side of the nation, though, Oregonians shot down Proposition 74, choosing not to regulate medical marijuana in a disappointing outcome. And in what was probably the most closely watched question on any ballot, California shot down Proposition 19, postponing the complete legalization of marijuana, for now at least. Although these two propositions both lost due to a severe lack of voter turnout, regardless of vocal support, they represent a new era in this country when the discussion of legalization is no longer viewed as a fringe argument. Ben Panish East Falmouth [end]
A Look at Our Favorite Plant With the elections this week, there are the usual controversial debates about taxes, abortion and health care. Yet one issue a lot of us have been casually throwing around is the idea presented by California's Proposition 19, which would essentially legalize marijuana. In addition, there was the unbinding question 4 on the Massachusetts ballot, which asks if our marijuana policy should be reevaluated, so this issue of legalizing marijuana is closer to home than we may think. [continues 635 words]
Since 2000, Massachusetts voters have yet to see a ballot question they dislike on easing restrictions on marijuana, and Tuesday's election proved no exception in four local state representatives' districts. Residents approved nonbinding measures urging their legislators to support medical marijuana in state Rep. Jennifer Callahan's district and in the district occupied until earlier this year by Rep. Richard Ross. Voters backed measures calling for state Rep. Kate Hogan, D-Stow, and Tom Conroy, D-Wayland, to support marijuana's full legalization, regulation and taxation. [continues 573 words]
This concerns Clive McFarlane's column, "How cool is 13th Dist. to pot?" (Telegram & Gazette, Oct. 27). If health outcomes determined drug laws instead of cultural norms, marijuana would be legal. Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. Marijuana can be harmful if abused, but jail cells are inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents. The first marijuana laws were enacted in response to Mexican immigration during the early 1900s, despite opposition from the American Medical Association. Dire warnings that marijuana inspires homicidal rages have been counterproductive at best. White Americans did not even begin to smoke pot until a soon-to-be entrenched federal bureaucracy began funding reefer madness propaganda. [continues 75 words]
Another reason to re-legalize the plant cannabis for sick citizens that doesn't get mentioned ("Marijuana questions on some local ballots," Oct. 24) is because it is Biblically correct, since God 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). The only Biblical restriction placed on cannabis is that it be accepted with thankfulness (see 1 Timothy 4:1-5). And, "But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?" (1 John 3:17). Further, many people know of cannabis as the tree of life and the very last page of the Bible indicates the leaves of the tree of life are for the healing of the nations. Stan White Dillon, Colorado [end]
Brookline - Also on the ballot in Brookline is Question 4 (Question 7 in Precinct 5) which asks, "Shall the state senator from this district be instructed to vote in favor of legislation that would allow the state to regulate the taxation, cultivation, and sale of marijuana to adults?" While this is not a cut-and-dried issue, the TAB recommends a yes vote to this nonbinding question. The Massachusetts Legislature has for many years refused to even discuss marijuana policy. Two years ago, voters took the issue out of the Legislature's hands, approving the decriminalization of marijuana. Question 2 passed with 65 percent of the vote. Now it's time to take the issue to its next logical step: legalization. [continues 128 words]
Yes on Question 4 Also on the ballot in Newton is Question 4 which asks, "Shall the state senator from this district be instructed to vote in favor of legislation that would allow the state to regulate the taxation, cultivation, and sale of marijuana to adults?" While this is not a cut-and-dried issue, the TAB recommends a yes vote to this nonbinding question. The Massachusetts Legislature has for many years refused to even discuss marijuana policy. Two years ago, voters took the issue out of the Legislature' s hands, approving the decriminalization of marijuana. Question 2 passed with 65 percent of the vote. Now it's time to take the issue to its next logical step: legalization. [continues 128 words]
I called the three men - John Mahoney, Paul Franco and Ron Madnick - vying to be the people's choice for state representative in the 13th Worcester District, to ask if it would be cool for members of their constituency to smoke a little marijuana, blow a blunt, puff some ganja now and then for their individual health. I raised the question because Central Massachusetts residents in the 13th, the 18th and the 1st Hampden districts will this year have the chance to vote on a ballot question asking whether their state representative should be instructed to vote in favor of "legislation that would allow patients, with their doctor's written recommendation, to posses, grow and purchase marijuana for medical use?" [continues 524 words]
On Nov. 2, residents of California will vote on whether to approve Proposition 19, which would legalize limited recreational use and growth of marijuana for anyone over 21. The law would also allow the government to license distributors to sell limited amounts of marijuana within state borders. Proposition 19 would limit personal possession to one ounce or less and restrict growth to no more than 25 square feet of cannabis, though the law allows for the local government to authorize the production of larger amounts of marijuana, including commercial production. [continues 570 words]
Marblehead - Movies making light of potheads and "getting high" have become commonplace, but a ballot question Swampscoitt voters will be asked for a serious opinion on Nov. 2 as to whether marijuana should be legalized. Posed as Question 4 on the ballot, the non-binding referendum will ask voters in the 7th Essex (Salem) and 8th Essex (Swampscott, Marblehead and part of Lynn) if they think their lawmakers should enact legislation that would allow the state to regulate the taxation, cultivation and sale of marijuana to adults. [continues 773 words]
Advocates Would Legalize Use for Medical Purposes QUINCY -- Five South Shore communities are among 73 Massachusetts cities and towns where voters will find public policy questions about marijuana on the November ballot. Question 5 on the ballots in Carver, Hingham, Hull, and Scituate's Precinct 3 and Question 4 in Cohasset address marijuana use for medical purposes. Voters will be asked if they want to instruct their state representative to vote for legislation that would allow patients or their caregivers with a doctor's written recommendation to possess and grow marijuana. [continues 221 words]
Years ago, if you had asked me about how I felt about medical marijuana, I would have laughed and asked what possible medical benefit could there be. Since then, I have seen and experienced a lot of stuff. I watched my mother struggle with stage four lung cancer. They knew she wasn't going to survive. She suffered through a lot of pain and eventually stopped eating. I can not help but wonder if maybe she would have survived longer with medical marijuana. [continues 182 words]
To the editor: The Salem News reported on Oct. 15 that Rep. Ted Speliotis is leaning toward support of a bill to legalize and tax marijuana. He further said, "I don't buy into, 'It's an entry-level drug.'" I would like to know if Speliotis has spoken to heartbroken parents whose narcotic-addicted sons or daughters were introduced to the drug world by first using marijuana. My personal experience in conducting group and individual counseling with drug addicts and adult probationers convicted of drug-related felonies, and, as a secondary-school psychologist, talking with high school students, is that for many of them marijuana was their initial drug experience. I have served on governor-appointed task forces in Texas and Georgia to formulate drug prevention and treatment policies. [continues 264 words]
Brookline -- On Nov. 2, Brookline and Newton voters will have a nonbinding question on our ballots asking whether we support a bill that would legalize, regulate and tax cultivation, and sale of marijuana for nonmedical purposes. As a parent, taxpayer and lawyer with a career in criminal justice administration and mental health law, I recommend a "yes" vote. Two years ago, we voted to reform cannabis prohibition, despite the opposition ofstate prosecutors, the attorney general and governor to relaxing pot laws. We voted to enact decriminalization, ending the risk of detention and career-damaging criminal records for possessing up to an ounce of marijuana. Seventy-four percent of Brookline voters supported the initiative, compared to a 65 percent "yes" vote statewide. [continues 358 words]
Marblehead -- Movies making light of potheads and "getting high" have become commonplace, but a ballot question Marblehead voters will be asked for a serious opinion on Nov. 2 as to whether marijuana should be legalized. Posed as Question 4 on the ballot, the non-binding referendum will ask voters in the 7th Essex (Salem) and 8th Essex (Swampscott, Marblehead and part of Lynn) if they think their lawmakers should enact legislation that would allow the state to regulate the taxation, cultivation and sale of marijuana to adults. [continues 945 words]
Newton - Newton voters have a chance to send a message to Senator Creem on where her constituents stand on the question of marijuana legalization. Hopefully, voters will send a resounding message that it is time to sponsor a legalization measure in the state Senate to regulate the taxation, cultivation, and sale of marijuana to adults. More than 40 million Americans either currently smoke marijuana or have smoked it in the past. These smokers have included political leaders such as President Obama, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, George Bush, Dan Quayle, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Newt Gingrich and Michael Bloomberg; prominent business figures such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Ted Turner and Richard Branson; illustrious people in the arts and entertainment such as Pablo Picasso, Steven King, Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson; and world-famous astronomer Carl Sagan. Would society have been better off if these illustrious people had faced criminal penalties? [continues 132 words]
KEVIN CULLEN, in his column "Smoking, guns" (Metro, Oct. 12) correctly states that a lot of high school kids are using marijuana and that there is violence associated with marijuana sales. He admits that legalization might end the violence, but says that that discussion is "taboo." What? We need a serious, non-taboo discussion of legalization for precisely the two reasons he mentions. High school students have more access to dope than to booze because dealers never check ID. With legalization, you can also have age regulations, a much more effective way of curbing teen marijuana use. Likewise, with legalization, you can sell marijuana in nonresidential businesses that can afford to hire security. [continues 57 words]
REGARDING KEVIN Cullen's column on marijuana's decriminalization ("Smoking, guns," Metro, Oct. 12): As many others have attempted to do, Cullen has tried to connect the dots between recent crimes committed in the area and pot's decriminalization in Massachusetts. The crimes he speaks of occurred for a variety of reasons, the most obvious being the economic hard times we are all facing. If you buy into his argument that the evil weed was the culprit, then, if nothing else, had marijuana been legalized, regulated, taxed, and available, these crimes probably would not have occurred. [continues 117 words]
REGARDING KEVIN Cullen's Oct. 12 Metro column "Smoking, guns": There is a big difference between condoning marijuana use and protecting children from drugs. 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, consumers will continue to come into contact with sellers of hard drugs such as cocaine and heroin. This gateway is a direct result of marijuana prohibition. [continues 83 words]
The legalization of marijuana is a highly controversial issue that sparks passionate arguments whenever it is raised. Thanks to the efforts of the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition (Mass Cann) and its fellow activists, the drug debate will once again be brought to the forefront in Massachusetts. Mass Cann, which is the state's chapter of the National Organization for the Reformation of Marijuana Laws (NORML), teamed up with several college chapters of NORML and the Drug Policy Forum of Massachusetts (DPFMA) to petition for the placement of Public Policy Questions (PPQs) on the upcoming November election ballot in multiple districts across the state - including many Worcester districts. [continues 520 words]
Dear Editor, Robert Sharpe (Letter: Marijuana Prohibition Has Failed, Oct. 6, 2010), got an arrow-splitting bull's-eye exposing the failure of cannabis (marijuana) prohibition. A sane or moral reason to cage responsible adults for using the relatively safe, God-given plant cannabis doesn't exist. Ending cannabis prohibition and extermination is one of the most important issues of our time. Truthfully, Stan White Dillon, Colorado [end]
Regarding your Aug. 25 editorial on gripes that marijuana offenders do not have to identify themselves and there is no way to force payment of fines: As to the former, most possession charges are added to complaints alleging commission of another crime or motor vehicle violation; circumstances where the law does require people to 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 gun your name is to provide it. [continues 111 words]
Massachusetts decriminalized the possession of an ounce or less of marijuana two years ago. How's that working out? Cops say they've never seen more people smoking marijuana. It's ubiquitous, not just in the inner city, but in tony suburbs, where high school kids are more worried about getting busted with -- or thrown off a team for being seen in the proximity of -- a six-pack of beer. With business booming, the sort of violence we associate with Colombian cartels and suitcases full of cocaine is now as likely to be used against some small-timer selling grass out of his house. [continues 566 words]
Thank you for your informative series on prescription drug abuse, which is undeniably a serious problem. I would like to see you do an equally informative series on the flip side of the problem: people with a legitimate need for prescription medications for pain who are unable to obtain them because physicians are (understandably) reluctant to prescribe them. The medical journals are full of articles about the mistreatment and undertreatment of chronic pain, but I'll bet you could easily find dozens of people to give you first-person stories. Even those who, like myself, have no interest whatsoever in using narcotics for chronic pain have difficulty finding a health care provider who will have a serious conversation about managing pain while juggling full-time work, home, care of elders, and all the other exigencies of daily life in the 21st century. [continues 71 words]
Dear Editor, Re: "Prohibition is not working," Daily Collegian 9/28 If health outcomes determined drug laws instead of cultural norms, marijuana would be legal. Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. Like any drug, marijuana can be harmful if abused, but jail cells are inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents. The first marijuana laws were enacted in response to Mexican immigration during the early 1900s, despite opposition from the American Medical Association. Dire warnings that marijuana inspires homicidal rages have been counterproductive at best. White Americans did not even begin to smoke pot until a soon-to-be entrenched federal bureaucracy began funding reefer madness propaganda. [continues 107 words]
Inside Massachusetts
