VOTERS SAY EASE POT LAWS When researchers launched the nation's most ambitious heart study 50 years ago, they chose Framingham, a middle-class town west of Boston and cross-section of America. Now, supporters of liberalized marijuana laws are hoping voters in this Massachusetts heartland are signaling a fundamental shift in public attitudes about the state's war on drugs. On Election Day, Framingham voters overwhelmingly approved a nonbinding question calling for a law that would make possession of less than one ounce of marijuana a civil violation with a fine of no more than $100. They weren't alone. Voters in Ipswich, Winchester and Harwich also backed nonbinding questions calling for easing of marijuana laws. In March, Amherst voters called for the repeal of laws prohibiting the possession and use of marijuana. Approval of the measures comes as the U.S. Supreme Court indicated it will hear the federal government's efforts to block state laws allowing ill patients to use marijuana for pain relief. Sponsors of the questions say they prove support for weakening of marijuana laws extends beyond traditional liberal enclaves such as Cambridge and Amherst. "There is a terrific, discernible disconnect between the public and our elected officials on the issue of the war on drugs," said Allen St. Pierre of the National Organization for the Repeal of Marijuana Laws. Armed with those votes of confidence, pro-marijuana activists are taking their message to a much tougher crowd: Beacon Hill lawmakers. One proposal would decriminalize possession of an ounce or less of pot by making it a civil infraction punishable by a fine. Another would give a boost to the state's 1996 medical marijuana law by allowing people to grow their own. The 1996 law, which allows people with certain illnesses to use marijuana, is on hold because people would have to register with a state Department of Health research project. Federal law prohibits such projects. If they are unsuccessful in the Legislature, activists are preparing to take their proposal to the ballot box in 2002, St. Pierre said. Both bills face an uphill fight. Voters in Rep. Bradford R. Hill's traditionally conservative Ipswich district soundly approved a nonbinding referendum calling on Hill to support legislation making possession of marijuana a civil violation like a traffic ticket. Hill, a Republican, isn't ready to take that step. He said he was baffled by the vote and will hold hearings in his district to gauge public opinion. "Philosophically, I don't agree. I have had three friends from high school pass away because of drug abuse," he said. "But clearly a message was sent through that vote."
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