MARIJUANA LOBBY GETS 2 LOCAL ALLIES

Sisti, Twomey will work to decriminalize use of the drug

CHICHESTER - One of New Hampshire's best-known law firms is taking on a
new challenge - the effort to decriminalize the use of marijuana.

The law office of Mark Sisti and Paul Twomey is the new home of the New
Hampshire Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, a branch of
the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

Twomey said he doesn't smoke pot, but that it's time to stop clogging
up the criminal justice system with people who do.

"I see the tremendous injury done to families and society by the war on
drugs," he said. "This is a cultural war of the '60s. Let's declare the
war over and get on with it."

Twomey and Sisti have developed prominence for their criminal defense
work of clients including Pamela Smart, but also handle many low-
profile drug cases.

"I don't use pot and wouldn't use it if it were legal. I just see
people's lives ruined day after day. They are forced to spend a lot of
money for attorneys. When you put it next to alcohol and tobacco, it is
a harmless, benign substance," Twomey said. "I personally think adults
should decide what they put into their own bodies."

The group plans to lobby state lawmakers for three reforms -
legalizing medical use of marijuana, legalizing the growing of
industrial hemp and decriminalizing marijuana use.

"I'd like to see people use marijuana recreationally and at most
receive a fine, no jail time," said Phil Greazzo, president of the New
Hampshire group.

"The top issue at the moment is that every other country in the world
recognizes medical marijuana as medicine for certain people, except the
U.S.A.," he said.

Though several states have taken up the issue of the medical use of
marijuana, California's passage of a measure that makes it legal with a
doctor's recommendation has been among the most contentious.

The federal government is fighting the measure.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Vicinanzo said he respect's Twomey, but
disagrees with him about decriminalizing marijuana use.

"In American there is perhaps no single greater cause of misery and
disease than alcohol, so we already have one evil, why do we want to
legitimize another mind-altering substance?"

And Col. Gary Sloper, commander of the state police, is unconvinced
that going easy on marijuana users is a good idea.

"We wouldn't support changing any laws regarding marijuana or any
controlled drug. All you have to do is look at the history of substance
abuse," he said.

Rep. Derek Owen, a Democrat from Hopkinton, has been fighting this
battle for a while. He was the sponsor of legislation to legalize
industrial hemp which was defeated last year. Though he says growing
hemp and decriminalizing marijuana are vastly different issues, he
supports the latter.

"I'm for decriminalization. I think the war on drugs should be gone,"
he said. "It's like Prohibition. It didn't work."

Keene Democratic Rep. Timothy Robertson is pushing for legalizing
medical marijuana and for decriminalizing its recreational use. He said
the effort that goes into the war on drugs would be better spent
helping people overcoming their addictions.

The 68-year-old lawmaker said he tried marijuana in the 1970s, but
didn't use it much, mostly because it was illegal. He believes that
eventually people will demand a more common sense approach to drugs.

"Why did we do away with Prohibition? Because it was bringing the
country to a screaming crime wave," he said. "The rich never stopped
drinking. The bootlegger where we lived had a route like a milkman."