The Herald is right to be alarmed by the many teens using marijuana, but the cause is the prohibition on the drug, not the movement to legalize it (" Generation up in smoke?" Dec. 27). The same federal survey also found that teen use of alcohol and tobacco - two legal and age-regulated substances - is sharply falling. That teens have an easier time getting their hands on illegal marijuana than legal and regulated drugs shows that prohibition is ineffective in keeping our kids safe. Only by ending prohibition can we take marijuana (and its profits) away from street dealers and begin to control its use and distribution. - - Karen Hawkes, Rowley The writer is a retired state trooper active with Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. [end]
It is not that marijuana use by teens has risen significantly, but that their tobacco use has greatly declined ("Generation up in smoke," Dec. 27). Is it possible the decrease in tobacco use shows us that the most effective anti-drug use campaigns are those that rely on enforcing regulations on a legal product, and not prohibition? Keith Saunders Scituate [end]
Smoking pot is now more common among 10th graders in the U.S. than smoking cigarettes, and according to the latest federal government survey one out of every 15 high school students smokes marijuana on an almost daily basis. A quarter of the eighth, 10th and 12th graders surveyed reported using marijuana in the last year. Think this uptick has anything to do with our government's increasingly lenient policies governing marijuana use? Well, of course it does! "The upward trend in teens' abuse of marijuana corresponded to downward trends in their perception of risk," according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which released the survey results. [continues 142 words]
Giving clean needles to IV drug addicts saves lives =96 and money. That's why the federal government should be spending your tax dollars to keep drug users -=96 and the people who have sex with them -- from getting AIDS and hepatitis. But Republicans in Congress have decided that despite a veritable mountain of scientific evidence showing that needle-exchange work, they are not going to pay for this sort of program any more. They just yanked it out of the end-of-year spending package. [continues 263 words]
13 Students Faced Discipline for Marijuana NEWBURYPORT -- Newburyport High School is following a statewide trend that's seeing drug use on the rise at secondary schools, officials say. Superintendent Marc Kerble said that since September, officials have conducted 13 student expulsion hearings primarily related to the use or possession of marijuana. "This should be a concern of not only the School Committee, but a concern of the community," Kerble said at a meeting last night. Kerble did not have figures readily available on how many hearings resulted in actual expulsion from school, but he spoke of the personal side of the statistic. [continues 559 words]
RE "THE government's marijuana problem: Federal bureaucracy makes it hard for states to administer a proven pain-relief medicine" by Juliette Kayyem (Op-ed, Dec. 12): While there have been studies showing that marijuana can shrink cancerous tumors, medical marijuana is essentially a palliative drug. If a doctor recommends marijuana to a cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy, and it helps the patient feel better, then it's working. In the end, medical marijuana is a quality-of-life decision that is best left to patients and their doctors. [continues 88 words]
JULIETTE KAYYEM'S Dec. 12 column on medicinal marijuana ("The government's marijuana problem," Op-ed) misses the boat. Reclassifying marijuana would not allow doctors to prescribe the drug, nor make it OK for pharmacists to dispense it. The US Food and Drug Administration requires drugs to go through a rigorous safety and efficacy approval process before allowing them to be prescribed. Moreover, marijuana-derived medications, such as Marinol and Cesamet, have been reclassified, and are available by prescription. Recently, the FDA ruled that raw marijuana does not meet its general standards. The drug failed an eight-factor scientific analysis that examined hundreds of studies on the plant's health effects. The National Academies of Sciences' Institute of Medicine determined "there is little future in smoked marijuana as a medically approved medication." [continues 81 words]
FALL RIVER - Following national trends, more city youths are experimenting with marijuana use, according to a survey of middle and high school students. The survey of high school students found that the percentage reporting marijuana use within the past 30 days increased by 9 percentage points from a 2008 level of 22 percent. Among individual grade levels, the largest increase was among those in the junior class, with an increase from 24.1 percent in 2008 to 40.2 percent this year. [continues 563 words]
FALL RIVER - Armed with the results of surveys related to health and risk behaviors conducted at the city's high and middle schools, the BOLD Coalition is considering the next steps to make Fall River a healthier place. With the surveys showing increased use of marijuana, among other concerns, Staff Director Craig Gaspard said BOLD is planning to create a series of public service announcements aimed at prescription drug abuse. Gaspard said he hopes to have the advertisements run on local radio and public access television stations. Outreach could be expanded to other stations if grant funding can be secured. [continues 394 words]
Taunton -- A police drug search conducted Friday morning at Coyle and Cassidy High School failed to turn up any contraband, according to one relieved school official. "We usually do it once in the spring and once in the fall," said school principal Bob Gay, adding that "It's part of the culture of the school to ensure parents we're providing a safe environment for their kids." Gay said around a dozen law enforcement officers made up of Taunton police and members of sheriff's departments from Bristol and Plymouth counties took part in the search. [continues 470 words]
Mr. Evans' "In this prohibition saga, Obama plays Herbert Hoover" contains one factual error. The Jones Act became law in 1929 when Coolidge signed it two days before leaving office. It also contains one error of omission, he limits his advocacy to freeing each state "to enact, implement and enforce their own medical marijuana laws." Why stop there? Barney Frank with Ron Paul as the first co-sponsor proposes the equivalent of the 21st Amendment for cannabis in HR 2306 the "Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011" As I write, 19 other members of the House are co-sponsors. Michael Capuano is the only other member of the Massachusetts delegation among them. [continues 98 words]
It was a curious coincidence last month that, as PBS was broadcasting the Ken Burns/Lynn Novick documentary called "Prohibition" -- describing the Hoover Justice Department's last-gasp crackdown on alcoholic beverages in the late 1920s -- prosecutors in the Obama Justice Department were announcing a crackdown on medical marijuana in California, threatening to confiscate the property of people "involved in drug trafficking activity," which is fed-speak for providing pot for sick people. After nearly a decade under the Volstead Act, the utter futility of enforcing public abstinence from alcohol was evident to all but prohibition's stakeholders -- chiefly, police, prosecutors and bootleggers. Despite the draconian penalties imposed by the 1926 Jones Act, which turned Volstead violations into felonies, booze remained generally available. Similarly, despite the draconian penalties of the Nixon-era Controlled Substances Act, and nearly a million arrests annually, marijuana has proven itself ineradicable, and, indeed, has become a part of our culture. The warnings from U.S. Attorneys in California come on the heels of similar threats from their counterparts in Rhode Island, Vermont, Colorado and other states whose medical marijuana laws authorize secure, large-scale cultivation facilities. [continues 453 words]
Thank you for giving voice to the now growing majority of us who support most of what was written by Dr. John Frantz ("Marijuana should be quasi-legal," Oct. 27). What the good doctor refers to as a "new category," however, is a category that already exists and it is called "regulation" - a more fitting term than "legalization." We regulate all kinds of ingestible substances to widely varying degrees, and marijuana should be no different. Restrictions on advertising, as the doctor uses for his example of "new," have been in place on tobacco for many years. [continues 73 words]
We need to change the illegal status of marijuana. Today, a record 50 percent of Americans believe marijuana should be legalized, according to a recent Gallup poll. Marijuana is less harmful than alcohol or tobacco, a fact emphasized by our Surgeon General 50 years ago. There has yet to be reported a fatal case of acute marijuana overdose. Perhaps the worst thing you can say about pot is that it may bring on symptoms of schizophrenia before they would have appeared otherwise. [continues 406 words]
Two members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation and four members of the Massachusetts legislature endorse ending marijuana prohibition. The rest of our congressional delegation has yet to catch up with Barney Frank and Michael Capuano, and 196 members of the state legislature have yet to catch up with Ellen Story of Amherst, Ruth Balser of Newton, Lori Ehrlich of Marblehead and Anne Gobi of Spencer. These representatives understand, as did a majority in a recent Gallup Poll, that a regulated market is better than a black market. [continues 527 words]
Diane Bolton's effort ("Letter: Legal marijuana means plenty more problems," Oct. 6) to portray cannabis (marijuana) as a detriment to children misses reality. Cannabis prohibition, not cannabis the plant, is the monster. Insisting cannabis is addictive will never make it more addictive than coffee. If Bolton honestly wishes to save the children, re-legalize the God-given plant cannabis. Magnify the example, examine how cannabis prohibition, extermination and persecution effects children in Mexico. The same way the original prohibition with alcohol affected children is the way the sequel effects children, except the sequel is on a world scale. It's clearly time to protect our children and stop feeding the monster. Those who support cannabis prohibition are directly and indirectly responsible for the destruction it causes to children. Stan White Dillon, Colo. [end]
Today's infants and children are the beneficiaries of the drug and sex revolution. In many cases their young lives are spent in hell's kitchen. They can't perform well in school because they can't pay attention or calm down. The potheads of the old guard don't know what they don't know. If they had to review the in-depth studies of the harm of smoking "weed" or tobacco, they couldn't pay attention long enough to absorb the basic facts if they wanted to. They simply want to legalize "pot" so they can continue their addiction by smoking it, not getting arrested and looking like heroes doing it ("Barney Frank looks to remove another taboo," Sept. 13). [continues 228 words]
We would like to acknowledge our appreciation to U.S. Rep. Barney Frank for taking the time to visit and talk with a group of concerned citizens at Gallery X in New Bedford on his efforts to legalize marijuana. This proposal, co-sponsored by Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, would federally legalize marijuana (cannabis) and let states make up their own laws on regulation, cultivation and distribution. Whether you agree or disagree, we should appreciate Rep. Frank for the courage of taking this proposition on and fighting for what he believes is just. [continues 369 words]
Maryland and Massachusetts, two states. What do they have in common? An issue that I am addressing is that a representative from each state is pushing to make two current illegal actions legal: Gov. O'Malley of Maryland wants to allow illegals to go to college in this state on in-state tuition at taxpayers' expense; Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts wants to legalize marijuana. What do both of these actions have in common? Garnering votes for these two incumbents. Responding to O'Malley, if illegal people want to pay in-state tuition, then the reasonable next step is to become a legal citizen in this country and live in the state. Immigrants have successfully done that for years and years. Why do we as legal voting and tax paying citizens have to give in to illegals because the sheer numbers of them make it easier to cave in to their demands? [continues 196 words]
Thousands of pro-marijuana Bostonians attended the 22nd annual Freedom Rally, commonly known as "Hempfest," on the Boston Common Saturday afternoon to listen to live music and protest for federal legalization of marijuana. Since cannabis was decriminalized in Massachusetts in 2008, making it illegal to arrest anyone carrying up to one ounce of marijuana, Hempfest has served both as a celebration and a rally against federal prohibition of the plant. This year, the Common hosted 21 musical acts and booths of organizations such as the Mass. Cannabis Reform Coalition, Mass. Libertarians and Water Pipes by Vortex. [continues 513 words]
Barney Frank did what he does best Monday afternoon: He talked courageously about an issue that makes most politicians crawl under the table. Frank, at a late afternoon talk at Gallery X in downtown New Bedford, was absent the usual accompaniment of local mayors and legislative delegation members. The same folks who fall over each other to piggy-back on Frank's usual SouthCoast appearances were gone this time. Because Barney Frank was in New Bedford to talk about the need for the United States of America to end the hypocrisy of marijuana being illegal. [continues 414 words]
AMHERST - One local professor's attempt to obtain federal permission to grow marijuana for research into its potential medical benefits has been rejected by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. The DEA has previously said that permitting anyone other than the government to grow marijuana would lead to greater illegal use of the drug. Lyle Craker, a UMass professor of plant, soil and insect sciences in Amherst, has been trying to obtain a license since 2001 to further potentially life-saving research. [continues 530 words]
RE "MARIJUANA genome: Fighting cancer, dude" (Editorial, Aug. 20): Rarely mentioned in the debate over the legal status of this plant, valued since the dawn of agriculture for its nutritious seeds, durable fiber, medicinal qualities, and, yes, its ability to alter consciousness, are the constitutional limits on the power of the state. The federal and state prohibition of cannabis exceeds those limits. Such unconstitutional laws do not bind in conscience, though they may be obeyed out of fear. It is humane, not cynical, to seek to free those who would use it as medicine from the dangers of the black market on our way to constitutionally reasonable regulation of the cultivation and commerce in cannabis. Steven S. Epstein Georgetown [end]
The announcement that a small Marblehead company has isolated the genome of the marijuana plant brought the predictable snickers, but the research seems to hold legitimate medical promise. The company, Medicinal Genomics, published the hundreds of millions of letters of DNA that make up Cannabis sativa in hopes of spurring research into the plant's cancer-fighting potential. Medical marijuana is legal in 16 states - not including Massachusetts - - but there is still much to be learned about its possible therapeutic uses. Unfortunately, though, the debate seems to bring out the worst in everyone. Foes of drug laws have latched on to marijuana's medical uses, cynically exploiting them as a way to bring about de facto legalization. By the same token, drug warriors have too often simply dismissed out of hand the possibility that the much-vilified weed might actually be good for you sometimes. Strip away all the drug-war combat, though, and Cannabis sativa is just a plant. Its health benefits - or dangers - deserve ordinary scientific inquiry unclouded by politics. Here's hoping that Medicinal Genomics can break the mold. [end]
Some major issues are debated on Beacon Hill for years but never resolved. Other issues can't get a serious hearing in a state Legislature that seems incapable of dealing with more than a handful of major topics each session. For those who care about these unaddressed issues, there's an alternative, albeit a difficult one: going directly to the voters through a ballot question. A number of interest groups have taken the first step toward getting their issues on the statewide ballot in 2012. Among the issues: [continues 361 words]
Group Petitions to Get Binding Referendum on Ballot For Legalization Voters in several area communities strongly endorsed non-binding resolutions last fall supporting the legalization of medical uses of marijuana. Next year, they might get a chance to vote for real. A group calling itself Massachusetts Patients Advocacy Alliance has petitioned to get a binding referendum on the ballot legalizing medical marijuana. Whitney Taylor, a spokeswoman for the group, said the votes in places like Attleboro and North Attleboro last year reaffirmed the strong support for medical marijuana that shows up in public opinion polls. [continues 311 words]
The folks who brought you out-in-the-open pot-smoking are back! And this time they want you to approve the use of medical marijuana to treat all manner of disease. There is legislation pending on Beacon Hill that would legalize the use of medical marijuana. But if the Legislature doesn't act before next spring, the State House News Service reports that some supporters plan to pursue a ballot campaign. Recall that voters in Massachusetts approved a ballot question in 2008 that decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana, sold on sob stories of desperate people who couldn't find work or kids who couldn't get into college because of a criminal record of drug possession. A civil citation would free those beleaguered souls from their regrettable choices, the argument went. [continues 211 words]
The Global Commission on Drug Policy recently declared that the global war on illicit drugs has "failed." The panel, led by former U.N. Secretary Kofi Annan, British entrepreneur Richard Branson and former heads of state representing Mexico, Colombia and Brazil, concluded that anti-drug policies have not stemmed the tide of narcotics, as global opiate use has increased 35 percent over the past decade while worldwide cocaine use has risen by 27 percent. This wholesale indictment of long-standing drug policy by respected world leaders was certainly astonishing. While the commission's call for decriminalization of drug possession will create widespread controversy, the focus should remain on the commission's call for a new model of addiction care. [continues 438 words]
To the editor: I'm writing about Albert "Max" Abramson's outstanding letter: "The insane war on drugs" (July 11). The so-called war on drugs is a huge industry and huge bureaucracy. Victory in the drug war is not possible, nor is it the goal. Victory in the drug war would mean that the drug war industry and bureaucracy are out of business. There are basically two types of people who support the so-called war on drugs: Those who make their livelihood from it. This includes politicians and bureaucrats who are probably on the payroll of the drug cartels. (Al Capone had hundreds of politicians and prohibition officials on his payroll.) [continues 112 words]
To the editor: "Should a SWAT team break down your door at 3 o'clock in the morning and shove a shotgun in your face while they tear your home apart and put your family's life in danger, looking for evidence that you might be hurting yourself?" In 10 years of asking this question, I have yet to hear an affirmative response. For over four decades, an insane war on drugs has been waged -- not on cocaine, heroin or marijuana -- but on the people of this nation. Inner cities have been turned into war zones, young men have been imprisoned and gang-raped by AIDS-infected inmates and respect for the rule of law has been all but completely destroyed in the eyes of the young. [continues 204 words]
A growing number of suburban young people are falling prey to deadly drug addictions, but most emerge from the same cultural environment with lives intact. Why? Is the answer in genetics, environment, psychology, or a potent mix of these? Or is it sometimes a matter of chance - an adolescent's decision to try a pill with addictive properties infinitely more powerful than a jigger of whiskey from the family liquor cabinet? There is no simple answer, says Dr. Kevin Hill, psychiatrist-in-charge at the alcohol and drug abuse treatment program at McLean Hospital, the largest psychiatric affiliate of Harvard Medical School and a global resource on substance abuse. [continues 475 words]
One in a series of occasional articles about opiate abuse and its consequences. There is a young man living at a homeless shelter in Quincy, age 21, sandy-haired with a face full of freckles, an earnest manner, and a heroin addiction. He loves his parents, hates rules, and can explain with sweet-voiced precision why, despite costly efforts, his family in Scituate cannot save him. "My parents did everything right, they did, to the best of their abilities. I know I've stressed them out. It's a weight on me. But you want to know how to stop a kid on a crazy heroin run?'' [continues 1359 words]
U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, a Democrat from Newton whose district includes Taunton, has partnered with a Republican congressman from Texas to introduce legislation that would make marijuana criminalization the business of state governments. Frank and Libertarian-leaning Rep. Ron Paul introduced HR 2306 on Thursday in Washington, D.C. The bill doesn't necessarily legalize marijuana but takes it off a list of federally controlled substances and lets states decide how to regulate it. The bill would also eliminate federally provided marijuana-specific penalties in the Controlled Substances Act. [continues 759 words]
Georgetown - "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. - That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, - That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness." [continues 687 words]
Prosecution and Jail No Longer Seen As Effective Deterrents QUINCY - On a blackboard in the drug unit's office at Quincy police headquarters, detectives have scribbled a grid of license plate numbers, vehicle types and names. These are the people the unit is building cases against for dealing drugs, mostly heroin and OxyContin. Their stated goal is to make it as difficult as possible for these people to deal in Quincy. Eradicating them altogether is beyond what the eight-person team can be expected to achieve on its own, unit head Lt. Patrick Glynn said. [continues 375 words]
DEATH CERTIFICATES SAY HEROIN, OXYCODONE AND OTHER DRUGS KILLED 46 MEN AND 53 WOMEN IN QUINCY, WEYMOUTH AND BRAINTREE IN TWO YEARS QUINCY - They're about about evenly split between men and women. More than 80 percent are over 30; the median age is 41. About a quarter of the men work trade union jobs or in construction. The women are likely to be homemakers, secretaries or workers in the medical field. They are the 99 people who died of drug overdoses in the past two years in Quincy, Braintree and Weymouth, largely from opiates like heroin and oxycodone, the pricey prescription painkiller most cited as the gateway drug to heroin. [continues 847 words]
Regarding the editorial "Growing haze of confusion around state's pot law" published June 8: There is a big difference between condoning marijuana use and protecting children from drugs. Decriminalization as approved by Massachusetts voters in 2008 acknowledges the social reality of marijuana and frees users from the stigma of life-shattering criminal records. What's really needed is a legally 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 like cocaine and heroin. [continues 83 words]
Given the myriad ways canines have been trained to use their powerful sense of smell, it is not hard to imagine they could be taught to differentiate between a large quantity of marijuana and less than an ounce. Until that time, police may be wasting their time using drug-sniffing dogs as the basis for pot arrests, such as the one on Route 3 last month. It's the latest indication that while the state's 2008 marijuana law may have put the proper emphasis on casual pot smoking, it has created a frustrating barrier between police and their ability to pursue more serious drug crimes. In the Route 3 case, State Police smelled marijuana on the breath of the two passengers in the back seat of a taxi that had been stopped in Hingham for a broken license plate light. [continues 256 words]
That's the conclusion of The Global Commission on Drug Policy, which just published a new report about the war on drugs: The global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world.... Vast expenditures on criminalization and repressive measures directed at producers, traffickers and consumers of illegal drugs have clearly failed to effectively curtail supply or consumption. Apparent victories in eliminating one source or trafficking organization are negated almost instantly by the emergence of other sources and traffickers. [continues 363 words]
RAYNHAM - Approximately 200 Raynham residents voted to pass an article at the Annual Town Meeting approving a $300 fine for the public consumption of marijuana. Raynham Police Chief James Donovan explained the thinking behind the bylaw, saying it is a "quality of life issue." Donovan said there is no significant problem with the public consumption of marijuana in Raynham for most residents, but it can come up for those who live in apartments. "I don't think we are going to have a huge problem with this just like we don't have a huge problem with drinking in public," Donovan said. "It doesn't come up much for most of us here in Raynham because we live in single family dwellings. But for those who live in multifamily dwellings, apartments and such, it does come up for them." [continues 481 words]
Regarding Attorney Cutler's Guest Opinion, "Liberty and the odor of marijuana" (May 8), I would like to point out that cannabis prohibition violates the citizens' right to liberty. We learned last Thursday night at the Republican Presidential Candidate debate that Congressman Ron Paul and former New Mexico Governor, Gary Johnson understand this. Article 18 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights, also derived from Otis' argument, emphasizes that part of the agreement between the people in forming government is the Governor and Legislature's duty to "an exact and constant observance" of "the fundamental principles of the constitution" when enacting only "wholesome and reasonable" laws that are "not repugnant or contrary to the constitution." This creates a presumption that we, the people, retain our natural rights and liberties except when necessary, not just convenient, to protect from the immoral exercise of force or fraud by others. The same duty is upon the Courts when called upon to determine if a legislative act is within the power to legislate. [continues 88 words]
Puritanism, H.L. Mencken wrote, is "the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy." In a state founded by Puritans, that spirit lives on, if not in the minds of most citizens, at least in their government. Even in the 21st century, in a land that celebrates personal freedom and the breaking of boundaries, Massachusetts police, prosecutors and pols still act like guardians of public virtue. Exhibit A: Gov. Deval Patrick is leading an effort to punish people for their snacking choices. He wants to take away the sales tax exemption for some foods - sugary drinks and candy - which, consumed in excess, make some people fat. Go for the healthy munchies and drinks - or pay. [continues 680 words]
To the editor: Unlike many pundits in the media, I found the first Republican presidential debate on May 5 interesting and refreshing. With the better known conspicuous by their absence, the five candidates in attendance exposed two significant schisms within the party. Both Congressman Dr. Ron Paul and former New Mexico Governor and businessman Gary Johnson voiced libertarian ideals. They alone supported ending our imperial wars abroad, our domestic war on drugs, and Washington politicians dictating to the states on social issues. [continues 199 words]
Earlier this month on the 236th anniversary of battles of Lexington and Concord, our state supreme court released its decision in Commonwealth v. Cruz, honoring the principles of 1775. The Cruz ruling limits police power to detain and search a car passenger based only on "... the 'faint odor' of burnt marijuana." Recent editorials criticizing Cruz confuse the court's uncomplicated reasoning, disrespect the state and federal Constitutions' protection of individual liberty from unjustifiable policing, and contradict the popular will. Complaints about Cruz are unfounded from several perspectives. Contrary to claims that the court approved driving under the influence of marijuana, Cruz was a passenger ordered from a parked car where the police made no attempt to check the driver's impairment, and where the trial judge ruled that the police had no reason to believe that the driver had been "operating under the influence ... ." Critics ignored the Cruz statement that police retain the power to impound and search a car and its passengers where there is evidence of impaired operation or a risk to the officer's safety, a risk the prosecution did not argue was present on Cruz's facts. [continues 398 words]
North of Boston -- Persons who value the advantages of liberty and the principles of the constitution of Massachusetts will remember April 19 of 2011, the 236th anniversary of the battles of Lexington and Concord, as a little more special. It was the day that the Supreme Judicial Court released an opinion that the smell of burnt marijuana no longer empowers police to detain persons and search them or their possessions. The case of Commonwealth v. Cruz arose when police spotted a car illegally parked. Two people were in the car, Mr. Cruz in the passenger seat. According to the police officers involved, when they approached the car, they smelled the faint odor of burnt marijuana. They ordered Cruz out and, in response to an inquiry by police, he gave up a piece of crack cocaine. Police found no marijuana in the car, on the person in the driver's seat or following a full search of Mr. Cruz. [continues 486 words]
THE HEADLINE of Joan Vennochi's column, "Pot not a crime, but trade still has victims" (Op-ed, April 28), is true, in that possession of small amounts is decriminalized in Massachusetts. However, instead of blaming marijuana users for the violence inherent in a market where production and sales remain illegal, she should look toward the remaining prohibition laws themselves. Just as with the fiasco of America's experiment with banning alcohol in the 1920s and '30s, today's violence and crime result overwhelmingly from the policy of prohibition, not the consumption of substances that happen to be illegal. [continues 92 words]
In its April 24 editorial, "Court ruling helps protect drug dealers," The Standard-Times turns the state's constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures on its head, because some criminals will escape detection. The newspaper ignores the fact that the vast majority of citizens who possess marijuana are not now, and never were, deserving of criminal prosecution and punishment. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Supreme Judicial Court twice rejected constitutional challenges to marijuana prohibition, telling proponents of limiting the state's exercise of power to change the law. This they did in 2008 and the court recognized that, in voting for Question 2, the people recognized that, going forward, marijuana possessors would not be committing a crime. [continues 198 words]
The four-leaf clover won't be the only herb associated with Boston for long the hub was ranked the second most pot-friendly city in America by The Daily Beast, according to last week's edition of Newsweek, its sister publication. Smoked out only by first-ranked Tallahassee, Fla., Boston gained its spot based on arrests and usage data from federal statistics as well as an analysis of the city's "local pot culture." "That's f---- ridiculous. We're number one!" said Bill Downing, chairman of the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition, the state affiliate of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. "Nobody smokes more pot than Massachusetts residents!" [continues 502 words]
Regarding Richard Evans' thoughtful April 29 oped ("100 years of marijuana prohibition"), the drug war is largely a war on marijuana smokers. In 2009, there were 858,405 marijuana arrests in the United States, 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 public resources criminalizing Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis. The end result of this ongoing culture war is not necessarily lower rates of use. [continues 92 words]
Inside Massachusetts
