CHANGES SOUGHT IN MARIJUANA LAWS

But Police Warn That Marijuana Use Isn't Harmless

It's not an easy question to answer.

Although Georgetown lawyer Steven Epstein is an emphatic and public
supporter of legalizing marijuana, he gets a little evasive when
asked about his own recreational use of the drug.

"I have used marijuana in the past," he said. "And I have liked it."

A boisterous man with a pile of wild brown curls, the 51-year-old
Epstein noted that, if he answered any other way, he'd be declaring
himself a criminal.

"It doesn't seem logical to me," he said. Possessing marijuana
"should be a matter of choice."

It may very well be - at least in Massachusetts - if three
initiatives backed by local reform groups make it onto this year's ballot.

Now being mulled by the Legislature, two of the measures propose that
marijuana in amounts of less than an ounce be decriminalized, so that
people found in possession face just a civil fine. The third
recommends that the drug be allowed for medical use.

Members of the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy and the
Georgetown-based Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition - the latter
of which Epstein and roughly 200 other members are actively involved
in - collected 80,372 signatures in 350 of the state's 351 cities and
towns to get the questions on the ballot. At least 66,593 were
required for the initiatives to be considered.

Once certified by the secretary of state, the measures were passed on
to the Legislature, which has until May 6 to act on them.

If lawmakers reject the initiatives or fail to act, the groups will
try to gather another 20,000 signatures by June 18 to get the
initiatives on the November ballot. Opponents can petition the
Supreme Judicial Court to disqualify the questions.

If the questions make it onto the ballot, they would require approval
from a majority of voters and, if passed, would go into effect on
Dec. 4, 30 days after the election.

Epstein and other proponents are confident the questions will become
law. They say legalization is long overdue. Nonbinding questions
dealing with decriminalization and medical marijuana have appeared on
the ballot more than a dozen times in various districts since 2000,
and House and Senate bills dealing with those same topics have
cropped up at least three times since 2005.

"I shouldn't be considered a criminal to have my choice," said
44-year-old Bill Bohns of Salem, a member of MassCann who admitted to
smoking regularly since 1989, the year he says he was diagnosed with
testicular cancer. "As long as I'm not harming others, I should be
able to do it."

Many who take the other side of the argument, however, say legalizing
the drug could foster a dangerous, chaotic environment.

Although marijuana might seem harmless, it can impair users'
coordination, balance, and sense of time and distance, thus creating
a "direct link" between use and car crashes, according to the Essex
district attorney's office.

Workplace safety could also be compromised: The rate of industrial
accidents among marijuana users is more than 50 percent higher than
among nonusers, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

"If you see an increase in marijuana use, you're going to see an
increase in incidents, particularly accidents," said Everett Police
Chief Steven Mazzie.

But cannabis proponents say its use doesn't rise with
decriminalization; they point to studies published in the British
Journal of Psychiatry and by the National Academy of Sciences that
have found little evidence to support that.

In fact, many backers of legalization say the state could save
substantial money by decriminalizing. According to a report compiled
by Harvard University economics lecturer Jeffrey Miron, doing so
would save millions in police and court costs.

Over the past few decades, 12 states, including Maine, New York,
Ohio, North Carolina, Mississippi, California and Alaska, have opted
for decriminalization, according to the National Organization for the
Reform of Marijuana Laws. Legislators in New Hampshire and Vermont
are also mulling that option.

Epstein, who has been behind legalization efforts for 35 years,
argues that the drug is already "de facto decriminalized" in the
Massachusetts. The attorney, who occasionally represents clients who
have been charged with marijuana possession, said most of them end up
with minimal fines and short probation sentences.

"Marijuana arrests [involving] handcuffs and a trip to the station
are less frequent," he said.

Mazzie confirmed that. Officers in Everett encounter marijuana users
and sellers on a regular basis, but they don't always arrest them.
Most times, the officers use their discretion, especially when
dealing with juveniles and people possessing small amounts.

Still, legalization is a different matter, he said, especially
because it could set a precedent. "I'd be concerned that it may be a
slippery slope," he said, noting that proponents might eventually try
to legalize cocaine or heroin.

But hold the Cheech and Chong references, Epstein said.

"I've seen people who were totally, totally blasted out of their
minds 24/7 and, for whatever reason, couldn't keep their lives
together," he said, noting those people need help. However, he added,
"The people I know whose marijuana use is their downfall is nil."

He pointed to movies such as "The Big Chill" or "Dazed and Confused,"
as providing accurate portrayals of typical marijuana use: normal
people having a good time.

During the Cannabis Reform Coalition's recent board of directors
meeting at TGI Fridays in Newton, he motioned around the room to note
the varied ages and socioeconomic statuses of attendees.

Most of the 17 members were men - some with gray hair, some balding,
some aging hippies with ponytails, some younger guys with baseball
caps and piercings. Tall flasks of beer lined the table at which they
sat; at one point, they raised their drinks in a toast "to liberty, my friend."

This is a "war on people's choice of altering their consciousness,"
said Epstein, a father of three who is as apt to quote John Adams as
song lyrics by The Kinks.

Still, he insists, his support isn't just so people can legally bend
reality. He believes the government could benefit from regulating and
taxing the drug - at $3.50 a gram - and allowing scientists to
further study hemp as it pertains to bio-fuel and medicine.

Bohns says he's a testament to the medicinal benefits of marijuana,
saying it helped him "get up and get going" after radiation therapy
for his cancer.

And since then, smoking marijuana has helped improve his mood. With a
smile, he said, "I've been told my outlook on life is right up there."