LESSER POT PENALTY VOTE CREATES STORM

ROCHESTER - A vocal government watchdog is urging the mayor to consider
seeking the resignation of two School Board members who, as state
legislators, voted to decriminalize marijuana.

But Mayor John Larochelle isn't eager to take that road.

"I'd like to hear why they voted that way" instead of "being reactive and
asking for their resignation," he said.

In one of two emails fired off to Larochelle and the City Council on
Monday, Fred Leonard said the mayor should stand up for students and "rid
our school leadership" of Bill Brennan and Pamela Hubbard because they
lacked "good judgment." The legislators voted last week in favor of House
Bill 1623, while School Board Chair Bob Watson, also a Democratic
representative, voted against the proposal.

The city delegation, absent one member not voting, split 5-2 in favor of
the measure. The proposal would make possession of one-quarter ounce or
less of marijuana a violation punishable by a $200 fine. Under current law,
possessing that amount is a misdemeanor that carries a $2,000 fine and
could land someone in jail for a year.

The bill now moves to the Senate, where chances of passage appear slim, and
Gov. John Lynch has said he would veto it if it got to his desk. Hubbard, a
retired teacher, said she stands by her vote.

"To have that on a young person's record, or to make it impossible for him
or her to apply and get any sort of federal money for college, seems like a
penalty that is far greater than the crime," she said, stressing the bill
would not legalize the drug.

"In no way does it imply I condone the use of drugs," Hubbard added.

Leonard, who ran for School Board last year, and who has two teenage sons
in the school district, said Brennan and Hubbard sent a "terrible message"
- - that "it's OK if you have a small amount of pot."

That stands in contrast with the school district's zero-tolerance policy on
drugs, he said.

First-time student offenders in possession of an illegal drug are
suspended, with the ability to attend the teen drug court, and a second
offense carries expulsion, Hubbard said.

The proposal's supporters said young people caught with a small quantity of
the drug should not lose the chance for college aid and other government
assistance.

But Leonard said decriminalizing would create a loophole for people who get
caught but escape having the offense on their record and then go to work in
a school.

"We can have drug abusers within reach of our children," he said.

Larochelle said he's concerned with the fallout for someone caught
possessing a small amount of a drug. He said the repercussions could lead
to more drug use if the person, with a criminal record, is thrown off a
career track.

"It might be that this vote is a very good way to start a dialogue of what
works for fighting drugs," Larochelle said. "This idea of decriminalizing
might not be a bad idea."

Brennan, reached by phone on Tuesday evening, said his rationale for voting
to support the misdemeanor classification was that he did not wish to give
young people a criminal record for possessing less than a quarter of an
ounce of marijuana.

"They would be ineligible for any federal help for college. No way do I
support the use of marijuana, but the penalty should fit the crime," said
Brennan.

Leonard's emails followed news Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta called for the
resignation of his city's school district spokesman who, as a member of the
House, also voted for the bill, which passed 193-141.

Leonard said he requested Larochelle looks into the votes because he's the
the city's chief representative.

(Rochester Times editor John Nolan contributed to this story. For more on
this topic, please turn to Page A6 for Letters to the Editor, Roll Call
Round Up and The Rochester Times editorial.)