GOING TO POT

N.H. Legislature Debating Decriminalization

Alaska has done it. So has California, Colorado, Nevada, Minnesota,
Mississippi and Maine. A total of 12 states have enacted some version
of marijuana decriminalization since 1973 and supporters of a small
marijuana reform bill in the New Hampshire Legislature are asking,
why not here?

Because, said Rep. Everett Weare, R-Seabrook, "I think you're opening
a Pandora's box" of problems and abuse and it "would violate federal
policy and federal law."

David Welch, one of Weare's fellow members on the House Criminal
Justice and Public Safety Committee, understands the concerns of
decriminalization critics but the Kingston Republican believes it's
time to talk - especially about the long-term potential harm to young
people caught in the capricious nature of the criminal justice system.

Welch said that "young people do a lot of foolish things" and that a
misdemeanor record for possessing a small amount of marijuana can
haunt someone for life. They can be banned from scholarships and
federal Pell grants - or even from serving as a police officer and in
the armed forces.

"It's a debate we need," the 12-term legislator told Seacoast Sunday.
"It's about time we had a discussion about marijuana use on the floor
of the House."

The better question might be: What exactly are we talking about when
we talk about drug enforcement?

A 'Free-For-All' Debate

Welch voted in favor of the measure to decriminalize marijuana
possession at one-quarter of an ounce in a surprising subcommittee
vote on Feb. 14. The bill, which would reduce possession penalties
from a Class A misdemeanor to a violation with a maximum fine, was
approved in the subcommittee and then rejected in the full committee.
It's now heading to a likely full floor debate and vote on March 12,
but even supporters think it likely won't pass.

The bill is strongly opposed by a wide range of law enforcement
agencies across the state and state Attorney General Kelly Ayotte
because it might condone marijuana use or would be the first step to
wider legalization.

Rep. Otto Grote, D-Rye, is opposed to the bill and was not persuaded
by the "various long presentations" he saw at the hearings.

But the law enforcement consensus is not unanimous. Rep. John Tholl,
R-Whitefield, voted in favor of the bill in subcommittee and he's the
police chief of Dalton. And one of the state's most passionate
critics against current drug policy is Richard Van Wickler, the
superintendent of the Cheshire County Jail.

Matt Simon, the founder of NH Common Sense, a nonprofit group
advocating for marijuana decriminalization, said this year's reform
attempt has done precisely what he hoped: encourage debate and discussion.

"Last year we had a free-for-all debate and we want it this year as
well," Simon said. "We are working on a way to develop a language to
talk about it."

Simon said he founded NH Common Sense a year ago because he's
offended by the irrationality of the country's drug policy and how it
impacts real lives, but not to encourage drug use.

"If I really want to get stoned, I wouldn't start a nonprofit and
spend my time talking until I am blue in the face about these
important issues," Simon said. "We are continuing to educate the
Legislature because the misinformation runs deeply."

Are We Winning the War?

More than 35 years into the federally led "war on drugs," how one
views marijuana decriminalization rests on a number moral, social,
cultural and criminal justices attitudes.

Superintendent Van Wickler in Cheshire County said he's sees the
abject failure of the "war" approach every day. He said the country
has spent more than $1 trillion in the war and the investment hasn't paid off.

"We continue to see an increase in crime, disease, death and
addictions," said Van Wickler. "None of these things add up."

Not unlike the military-industrial complex that developed after World
War II, the war on drugs complex has set public policy since the
early 1970s. Van Wickler is part of a growing cadre of criminal
justice insiders who think the country needs a more rational, public
health approach to drugs because the law enforcement approach has
failed "miserably" - and has become in fact a war on the American people.

"Every two weeks, we build 900 more jail beds in the country and the
estimates are that 60 percent of those are from drug-related crimes,"
he said. "We are spending too much money building prisons and not
enough building schools."

Van Wickler recently joined LEAP, Law Enforcement Against
Prohibition, the Massachusetts-based international organization with
more than 8,000 members that includes current and former police
officers, narcotics detectives and judges who advocate a dramatic
change in course - legalization of all drugs.

Most of all, Van Wickler explains, they are fanning out across the
country to challenge the hardened conventional wisdom.

"We don't advocate drug use and, in fact, discourage it all the
time," Van Wickler said. "Studies show that decriminalization and
legalization do not lead to more use or more crime. It's simply not true."

What has happened is increased corruption, decreased respect for law
enforcement and skewed public priorities. It has also exposed the
contradictions between the more prevalent alcohol abuse and those of
drug abuse.

Rep. Weare said he was not convinced by those advocating change and
thinks the decriminalization effort is unnecessary.

"From the information we were given, most young people aren't
charged" with a misdemeanor for a small possession of marijuana.

But Rep. Welch, who's not for legalization at all, said he wasn't
comfortable with that type of discretion. "If you're not enforcing
the law, it's useless."