MASSACHUSETTS LOOKS TO TURN OVER NEW LEAF ON POT

An overwhelming number of Bay Staters replying to a Suffolk
University/WHDH Ch. 7 poll say the state's marijuana laws should go up
in smoke.

The poll regarding questions set to appear on the Nov. 4 ballot shows
that 72 percent of Greater Boston residents favor snuffing out
criminal penalties for suspects carrying less than an ounce of pot,
and replacing them with civil fines. Under the measure, a person
stopped with marijuana would be given a $100 ticket and forced to
forfeit the drug

"The public may be signaling that pursuing small-time marijuana users
is a waste of taxpayer resources," said David Paleologos, director of
the Political Research Bureau at Suffolk University. "This issue
suggests there is a libertarian streak in the thinking of the
Massachusetts voter."

The poll also found lingering resentment toward former Gov. Mitt
Romney. State residents would reject likely Republican presidential
nominee John McCain more heartily if he chose his former rival Romney
as his running mate. The poll shows that 41 percent would be less
likely to vote for a McCain/Romney ticket, while 24 percent were unswayed.

Bay Staters were also icy toward a ballot measure aimed at abolishing
the income tax, with 50 percent opposed to eliminating income tax, and
15 percent undecided.

The pollsters gathered the data from 400 state residents who were
contacted between July 31 and Aug. 3.