I'm a retired corrections officer and substance abuse counselor, and I'm tired of hearing the same reasons as to why we shouldn't legalize marijuana that we've been hearing for the past 40 years. Massachusetts has a special opportunity to improve public safety and limit marijuana access to the young and at-risk. Marijuana is not harmless, and given my background in substance abuse counseling, I am firmly against any kind of substance abuse. However, marijuana prohibition and its consequences on individuals, families, and communities are far worse than using the drug. [continues 385 words]
The Sun should get an award for the most inaccurate and backwards thinking editorial ("Colorado"s New High Not For Massachusetts," Jan. 5) regarding Colorado relegalizing cannabis (marijuana). We haven't "made it easier for cartels;" the cartels hate regulation and thrive without it. Make no mistake, people know what they're getting. There is no medical "prescriptions" necessary or available. $25 per ounce doesn't exist within Colorado borders. All the bureaucratic expense will be paid for by cannabis store fees and the high taxes paid when citizens purchase cannabis. Does The Sun really believe underage people have had any trouble acquiring cannabis in the underground market in the last eight decades? A sane or moral argument to continue caging responsible adults for using the God-given plant (see the first page of the Bible) doesn't exist. Dillon, Colo. [end]
I am writing in response to the editorial on Sunday, Jan. 5, about pot in Massachusetts, particularly the line that asks will children be confused about what their parents are doing. Obviously they are not confused about daddy drinking beers every night and all weekend or about mom's martinis with her friends. They are not confused by drinking because in our society it's OK to drink daily; it's OK to be drunk. I don't advocate that kids should smoke, just like I don't think they should drink. [continues 419 words]
The concerns for society and the children expressed in "Colorado's new high not for Massachusetts" editorial (The Sun, Jan. 5) ignores two indisputable facts: no matter marijuana's legal status, adults and kids who want it will find a way to get it from those willing to supply it; and, according to surveys of Massachusetts High School students, a majority never try it. The first fact implicates the fundamental issue of government: the "consent of the governed." The second, the claim children have a latent desire to use marijuana, is a delusion. Yet it is true Massachusetts should not copy Colorado's way of ending a prohibition that never should have been. Instead, the Bay State should allow adults to engage in the cultivation, commerce and consumption of marijuana as they may with any other herb. Require adults take steps to prevent access to growing plants and marijuana by children and punish distribution to minors with significant jail time and/or fine. Such a policy would seek our shared goal of suppressing access to marijuana by children in a constitutionally proper and fiscally responsible manner. STEVEN S. EPSTEIN Georgetown Editor's note: Attorney Steven S. Epstein helped establish the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition in 1989, and more recently helped establish Bay State Repeal, a state ballot question committee dedicated to the repeal of prohibition in 2016. [end]
Good luck to the people of Colorado. They've made it easier for drug cartels to tap into their children's latent desire to experiment with marijuana. Adults 21 and older now can buy marijuana legally for recreational use in Colorado. As of Thursday, residents and visitors can go to a state-regulated pot center, ask for an ounce or less, and pay the over-the-counter price. Just like the Obamacare rollout, no one knows exactly what they're getting; Colorado hasn't established a price structure, leading one Denver shop to sell one-eighth of an ounce of "high-quality" marijuana for $70. That's in sharp contrast to state-licensed pot centers filling medical prescriptions at $25 an ounce. [continues 270 words]
TEWKSBURY -- The government's attempt to seize the Motel Caswell under federal drug-forfeiture laws was dismissed Thursday by a federal judge who found police made no effort to work with or warn the property's owner. U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith Dein found that the property was not subject to forfeiture and that Russ Caswell, proprietor of the budget motel on Route 38, met all the qualifications of an "innocent owner" who did not know of or consent to drug crimes taking place on his property. [continues 751 words]
BOSTON -- Attorneys from Arlington-Va.-based Institute for Justice argued Monday afternoon before a judge in U.S. District Court that the federal government's civil-forfeiture case against the Motel Caswell is unconstitutional Attorneys Scott Bullock and Lawrence Salzman argued that the case violates both the 10th and 8th amendments to the constitution in court, and they asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith Dein, for a motion for summary judgment that would dismiss the case completely before it went to a jury trial. [continues 723 words]
I am a 13-year member of the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition/NORML. Question 2 came about because we built a "house" with 19 years of toil, and the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy/ Marijuana Policy Project sold it. A sincere thank you to the voters who approved. As free people, we are not thrilled with paying a fine, but we will defend this bill from Beacon Hill tampering. This is both a momentous occasion, and a baby step. The children are protected, now the adults will have our day. We are not criminals, and we are sick of being told that we are. Please refer to the First and 10th Amendments. Step two will be a medical bill, and beyond, someday, a national Amsterdam-style distribution and tax system. The gateway theory? Please! This is, in fact, a smokescreen for law-enforcement job security. If anyone is troubled by these events, I would suggest that you move to Singapore or Thailand, where people like me are executed. Freedom is normal! Michael Maloney [end]
WOBURN -- While the district attorney in Springfield has vowed to drop all pending charges of possessing an ounce or less of marijuana in the wake of the passage of Question 2 on Tuesday, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said he will make such decisions individually. "Until the new law is implemented, we will evaluate each pending matter on a case-by-case basis,'' Leone said yesterday. "In general, as was the case prior to this new law, the presumption will be that defendants charged with mere possession of marijuana without any other criminal charges or prior record are to have their case continued without a finding or resolved with pretrial probation,'' he said. Hampden District Attorney William Bennett announced Wednesday that he wants to honor the spirit of the ballot initiative, which makes possession of an ounce or less of marijuana punishable with a civil fine of $100. The law will take effect in late December or early January, officials said. "I'm going to act as if the law were in effect now," Bennett told The Republican in Springfield. [continues 180 words]
LOWELL -- While she does not line up completely with the Statewide Harm Reduction Coalition, (SHaRC) Green Rainbow Party gubernatorial candidate Grace Ross does agree the state is throwing good money after bad. "Part of what worries me and part of the reason I'm running for governor is that we've heard all the rhetoric, but the state is still paying $43,000 a year for a prisoner who needs a rehab bed," Ross said. "It's the policy issues at the state level that have me concerned. There are basic solutions that we are not looking at." [continues 478 words]
There is a war raging in America, and it may be the most important war we will fight in the coming years. But it's not a war against terrorism, drugs or AIDS. It's a war against free speech, primarily religious free speech. Let me give you some examples. The microphone was unplugged by school officials when a high school valedictorian began talking about Jesus Christ. An instrumental version of "Ave Maria" was eliminated by school officials because it might be religious. A city councilman was told that he cannot end his prayers in Jesus' name, while other council members can pray as they see fit. These are all examples of individuals who were simply expressing their First Amendment right to free speech -- religious free speech. Until recent years, this was protected speech. But things seem to be going from bad to worse. A recent court decision dismissing the case of a rock band that was discriminated against because of its members' religious beliefs highlights the problem. [continues 641 words]
BOSTON -- Gov. Mitt Romney yesterday vetoed a bill that would allow for the sale of hypodermic needles without prescription, saying it could help promote heroin use and send the wrong message to young people. Romney said the bill, which proponents hope will stem the spread of blood-borne diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C, would have had "unintended consequences" such as encouraging more widespread heroin use. "We cannot in good conscience say that we should make needles more available to heroin addicts," Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey said at a press conference. "It sends the wrong message, and it facilitates our very deadly plague of heroin abuse." [continues 500 words]
WESTFORD -- A Stony Brook Middle School nurse says teachers, guidance counselors and nurses repeatedly reported their concerns about former teacher Jessica Palkes' possible drug problem to the school's principals well over two years ago. But School Superintendent Stephen Foster says he didn't learn of Palkes' heroin problem until her arrest this past January. Yesterday, the principals weren't talking. And neither was Foster. In an "open statement to the Westford Community," Stony Brook nurse Sally Pratt wrote in a letter that the school staff reported their concerns about Palkes to Stony Brook Principal Joan Barry and Assistant Principal Joe Jette as far back as September 2003, long before Palkes' Jan. 6, 2006, arrest on heroin charges. [continues 605 words]
For decades, marijuana has offered forbidden pleasure to its users, but a sobering penalty when caught. Last week, a state legislative committee took the first step toward lessening the sting for those caught with small amounts of marijuana. The Mental Health and Substance Abuse Committee voted 6-1 to make possession of less than an ounce of the drug a civil offense, punishable by a $250 fine. The citation may be paid by mail, just like a parking ticket. Parents of those 18 years and younger in possession of less than an ounce of pot also would be notified. [continues 1117 words]
CAMBRIDGE -- For three years, Officer Michael Horan was the "public face" of the Chelmsford Police Department. He worked with hundreds of children and their families as the department's D.A.R.E. officer in the Parker and McCarthy middle schools. A congenial and decorated cop, Horan, who joined the department in 1999, was the link between police and the Chelmsford Public Schools. But Horan had a monkey on his back. He had a gambling problem in which he would spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars each week on scratch tickets, prosecutor Lee Hettinger said. Horan also took trips to Las Vegas casinos and Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. [continues 519 words]
'Vapor Alcohol' Leaves Lawmakers In A Huff BOSTON -- State lawmakers are moving quickly to ban a device that lets users get drunk by simply inhaling. The device, AWOL (alcohol without liquid), mixes spirits, such as vodka or whiskey, with pressurized oxygen to create a vapor, according to the product's Web site. A person inhales the cloudy mixture through a tube for about 20 minutes to consume one shot. Kevin Morse, president of North Carolina-based Spirit Partners, Inc., the company that makes the AWOL device, did not return repeated phone calls last week. Anyone caught with the device could face six months of jail time or a fine up to $200, under the proposed law. [continues 670 words]
TEWKSBURY -- Police officers accompanied by seven drug-sniffing dogs ran a drug sweep at the Wynn Middle School this morning, police said. No drugs were found in the hallways, student lockers or common areas, Lt. Dennis Peterson said. But the program has been successful in the past, locating marijuana on at least one occasion in another school. The periodic drug sweeps, which typically last less than 20 minutes, are unannounced and students are prohibited from leaving their classrooms while the search is ongoing, Peterson said. Most of the drug-sniffing dogs came from surrounding communities under the partnership of the North Eastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council, most commonly known as NEMLEC. [end]
Westford school officials have experienced several rather troubling and embarrassing incidents with teachers in recent years, resulting in their prudent decision to review policies regarding hiring practices and background checks. Three teachers have been charged with crimes in the last three years, including two arrested for heroin-related offenses. Former teacher Rosemarie Pumo was eventually convicted of distributing heroin to students and sentenced to four to five years in state prison. Two weeks ago, teacher Jessica Palkes, who resigned after her arrest, was arraigned on charges of heroin possession. In light of those incidents, Superintendent of Schools Stephen Foster is considering adding random drug testing to the teachers' contract. [continues 170 words]
Dr. Wayne Pasanen, Lowell General Hospital's medical director, has mixed emotions about the recent proposal to open a methadone clinic in the heart of the downtown business district. It's an important issue for someone like Pasanen, who has been on the front lines in the war against drugs for many years. Not the "war" on drugs, mind you, as that war is an easy one, one that often includes not much other than mottos, and some good, old-fashioned self-righteousness. [continues 588 words]
Locating a methadone clinic in downtown Lowell, a few steps from the high school, is an unconscionably bad idea that must be strongly opposed by city leaders and our state delegation. Relief Associates LLC of Watertown this week proposed a facility for John Street, a site that is about 150 feet from Lowell High School's Freshmen Academy and two blocks from the school's main buildings. It is the wrong location for several reasons -- methadone clinics attract drug dealers looking for easy targets but who are willing to sell to anyone, including naive students; it will stymie downtown Lowell's ongoing revitalization; and the city already has a methadone clinic -- Habit Management Institute -- on Suffolk Street. [continues 266 words]
