AN OUNCE OF POT -- AND JUST AN OUNCE OF TROUBLE

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.

As the law stands, offenders risk up to six months in jail and a $500
fine. Such a measure has a long way to go -- it must be approved by
the House and Senate. It then goes to the desk of Gov. Mitt Romney,
whose anti-drug stance has been staunch.

If he vetoes the bill, it would take a two-thirds majority in both
the House and Senate to override the veto.

The possession of small amounts of marijuana (usually an ounce or
less) has been decriminalized in 12 other states, according to Allen
St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the
Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

The Bay State bill may revive debate on the issue, state Sen. Susan
Fargo hopes. Fargo was an early co-sponsor of the bill, after the
late Sen. Charles Shannon, a former police officer, appealed to her
for help. A 2000 poll in Shannon's district showed widespread support
for decriminalization, and "it was something that was important to
him, so I agreed to sign on," Fargo said. "I felt it was at least
important to bring out for debate." Fargo said she's not yet sure
where she stands. "It's not something I've yet done much research on
at this point," she said.

But the Bay State debate is not about the use of medical marijuana,
to ease pain of those suffering from disease. Rep. Steven Tolman, a
Brighton Democrat and chairman of the Mental Health and Substance
Abuse Committee, has said that the bill's goal is to make sure a
youthful pot arrest and criminal record doesn't haunt someone for the
rest of their lives.

Chelmsford Police Chief Ray McCusker opposes decriminalization. "I'm
obviously disappointed by this action," McCusker said. "I think it's
going to cause the drug that's already the number-one choice of youth
in our area to become even more prominent. That's my concern. Along
with alcohol, it's the number-one drug of choice with teens. And I
just think something like this sends a bad message to them. And I'm
disappointed it's gotten this far."

Lowell Police Superintendent Edward Davis also opposes
decriminalization of pot. "And I think the general public by and
large believes it should still be a criminal offense. There have been
attempts to get this done through the courts with cases, and that
hasn't worked. So now, they're going through the Legislature. "I know
that research shows it's not a gateway drug, but in my opinion,
marijuana sets the stage for the abuse of other drugs. And what tells
me that is 10 years of past experience with narcotics enforcement."

Davis said there is "incredible profit" spread among pot dealers and
smugglers, "and I don't see how this bill would change that. I think
we have to remain vigilant and prosecute people. We have a big enough
problem with alcohol and those would only add to the problem we're
already dealing with."

Those who deal with addiction were split on decriminalization.

Mary Grady, a clinician who works with juveniles at Lowell House,
said the message the bill will send to "impressionable" young pot
smokers is that "the less penalty you have, the less of a big deal it
is." She said she has worked with children as young as 9 years old
who have smoked pot. "And now, it can be tainted with heroin and
cocaine, which are addictive. They go buy it and they never know
what's in there. And it's so accessible." Grady said marijuana
paraphernalia and seeds are readily available on the Internet, and
pot itself is "easy to find. There are parents who sit on a Friday
night, and invite kids 12 and 13 years old to smoke it with them. And
what's going to stop them from doing that? 'I'll only get a fine, who
cares?' "Adults, fine, go and do your thing. But somebody who's 12
and still impressionable?"

Janice LaCroix, a Lowell drug and alcohol counselor, said she would
like to see fewer law-enforcement resources used to chase "relatively
harmless" pot. "Maybe if we stopped chasing all the marijuana out
there, we could spend time on the heroin and the dealers who are
killing our kids," LaCroix said. "I deal every day with severe
addictions, including alcohol and heroin. Very little do I see
marijuana as an issue of addiction. It typically isn't an
overwhelming issue in peoples' lives. But I can walk down the street
10 feet to a liquor store that sells all kinds of poison. This
morning, I was sitting with a 25-year-old who looks like he's 50. And
that's from alcohol." She said marijuana is a "gateway" drug to
harder drugs "if you want it to be. I used to smoke pot and never
wanted to try cocaine or heroin. That's apples and oranges."

"I don't see it as a gateway drug," said a 20-year-old Middlesex
Community College criminal-justice major, who requested anonymity. He
smokes weed, but not nearly as much as the rest of his family. "I'm
the only one in my family who's not a daily smoker. My parents,
brother, sister, they smoke regularly. I'm less frequent." "I agree
with the legislation," said the student. "The idea should be to head
toward decriminalization. My parents are successful people. It's not
like it affects the rest of their lives. "The problem is, my biggest
concern is, I've seen people caught with a small amount who've gone
to jail, and it's been hard for them to recover their lives."

"What the committee did was certainly something we support," said
Bruce Mirken, a spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project in San
Francisco. Mirken said that evidence from studies in states that have
decriminalized marijuana show that "it really doesn't make a whole
lot of difference in terms of marijuana use in this country. The
bigger question is, why put people in jail for possession or use of a
drug that is demonstrably less addictive than alcohol?"

Last year, he said, 771,605 people were arrested on marijuana
charges, "the equivalent of every man, woman and child in the city of
San Francisco." Yet reports show "every year it is widely available
and becoming more available and there's no sign of any change. "At a
certain point," Mirken said, "you do have to acknowledge that the
definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again
and expecting different results."