DRUG LAWS NEED REVISION

Last month, activist groups led by the Coalition for Sensible
Marijuana Policy launched a campaign to reduce the penalties for the
possession of marijuana for personal use in Massachusetts. According
to current state law, possession of any amount of marijuana carries
the risk of incarceration, heavy fines, a criminal record and legal
fees. Those convicted of marijuana possession can lose student
financial aid, public housing, unemployment benefits, the right to
operate a motor vehicle and the opportunity to serve as a foster or
adoptive parent.

The proposed law would classify marijuana possession as a civil
offense, punishable by citation, fine and forfeiture of the weed.

It's about time. In poll after poll, the people of Massachusetts have
demonstrated they are dissatisfied with the way the state responds to
its citizens' cannabis use -- and they should be. The penalties
levied for cannabis use are draconian, outdated and
counterproductive. It is common knowledge that cannabis smoking is
about as damaging to human health as cigarette smoking -- which the
state allows.

Unlike tobacco use, however, cannabis carries no risk of addiction,
and it is impossible to consume enough to overdose on it. Smoking
weed simply does not constitute a public health threat.

Continuing to label its responsible use by adults "criminal" is
preposterous, and -- considering the more concrete damage rendered by
legal substances -- outright hypocritical.

Prohibition has never been an effective method of controlling
widespread substance use. Every culture in the world has used
mind-altering substances (with the sole exception of tribes in the
extreme climate of northern Canada and Alaska who could not
extensively cultivate anything, let alone drugs), and Massachusetts
in 2008 is no exception -- prohibition has failed here. Cannabis use
is commonplace. Trying to stop a population from indulging in one of
its favorite substances is doomed to failure.

And so what? The fabric of society has not yet crumbled from cannabis
use, despite consistently high rates of usage. The majority of
marijuana users are responsible and reasonable about their
consumption -- they enjoy their herb the way many enjoy their wine
and cocktails -- or, for that matter, their caffeine, nicotine and sugar.

The only reasonable response to a substance with such a wide appeal
is regulation. By treating cannabis as a dangerous pariah, our laws
have forced it into a black market, making it easily accessible to
underage users, eliminating any possibility of quality control,
denying local governments revenue from this cash crop and funding
large-scale organized crime in this country and internationally.
Passage of the proposed bill would be a step in the direction of
regulation, which would put an end to the free-for-all black market
system that is institutionalized by current laws.

The current legal status of cannabis erodes the rights of otherwise
law-abiding people while the public derives no perceptible benefit.

Other legislation and social conventions exist to protect the public
from the negative effects of substance abuse: DUI laws, the right of
employers to fire employees who perform poorly, public consumption
bans, trafficking regulations and age restrictions, for example.

The substantial criminal penalties for simple possession are excessive.

Denying access to public resources like financial aid and public
housing to those who are caught with marijuana is senseless.

Such penalties make it more difficult for people to function as
productive members of society, especially in cases of students denied
government financial aid for mere possession. Denying people access
to education, housing and unemployment benefits does not deter
potential pot smokers, but simply marginalizes those who already smoke.

The legislation proposed by the coalition would replace criminal
penalties for possession of small quantities of cannabis with civil
ones. Penalties would be stiffer for those under 18 and would include
community service and substance abuse education.

Reducing the severity of punishment to the caliber of an expensive
parking ticket would ease the negative repercussions that society
experiences when its laws interfere with the careers, family lives,
transportation and education of otherwise law-abiding people.

It is time for our laws to correspond to our cultural practices.

Human beings like to use mind-altering substances, and they do so.
They did so when a misguided Congress passed the 18th Amendment
banning alcohol, did so when the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act effectively
banned cannabis use and they continue to do so now. Criminal
punishment for an act that the people of Massachusetts do not think
ought to be considered criminal at all is undemocratic. All
Massachusetts residents, regardless of whether we choose to use
marijuana, should support CSMP's initiative to decriminalize small
quantities for personal use. Any person who values his or her rights
should be outraged at marijuana prohibition's victimization of
citizens who have done nothing to harm or disturb others. This
so-called War on Drugs has gone on too long and made mockeries of too
many of our rights.

This year we have the opportunity to vote some sense back into drug policy.

It is our responsibility to take it.