TOP LAW ENFORCERS CALL FOR 'NO' VOTE ON MARIJUANA QUESTION

Local law enforcement officials began a final assault yesterday on
Tuesday's ballot question to decriminalize the possession of small
amounts of marijuana, saying a "yes" vote would only empower drug
dealers who resort to guns and violence in their trade.

"Drug use, drug abuse, and drug sales are synonymous with other types
of criminal activity," Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said
yesterday, pointing to a table of guns and bags of marijuana that, he
said, are found in tandem in Boston's street crime.

"Where you find drug dealers, you also find guns and violence," he
said. The ballot question "gives those dealers a loophole to
enterprise while punishing the neighborhoods where they're going to
do business."

Davis spoke at a news conference yesterday at police headquarters in
Roxbury, joined by local drug detectives and Suffolk District
Attorney Daniel F. Conley, Berkshire District Attorney David
Capeless, and Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe,
president of the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association.

Today, state Attorney General Martha Coakley plans to join with
Somerville officials in that city and health experts to decry the
ballot question, known as Question 2.

The proposal would decriminalize the possession of up to one ounce of
marijuana, making it a civil violation with a $100 fine rather than
an offense warranting arrest.

The question's supporters say state law would still maintain
penalties for growing, trafficking, or driving under the influence of
marijuana. Juveniles arrested with any amount of marijuana would have
to undergo a drug awareness program.

But the proposal would ensure that the possession of small amounts of
marijuana will not taint a person's criminal record, punishment
supporters say is too severe.

Under state law, anyone convicted of possessing even a small amount
of marijuana faces jail time, a fine, and a lifelong criminal record
that could be accessed by potential employers, housing agencies, and
student loan providers. People seeking a specific job, such as a
teacher or law enforcement position, could be excluded because of a record.

Yesterday, the group supporting the question with a $1 million
campaign - the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy - released a
statement saying its review of data shows that three-quarters of
those arrested for marijuana possession in the state are 24 or
younger. The group believes those young people are most likely to
have their careers affected by a criminal record.

But law enforcement officials say no amount of marijuana is
insignificant considering the violence and potential for drug abuse
that comes with it.

Conley noted that Boston's black ministers sent letters this week to
their counterparts across the state urging opposition to the ballot
question, stating that the small amounts of marijuana found in
suburbs are a product of the drug dealing and violence in Boston's
neighborhoods.

An ounce of marijuana, officials said, could sell for up to $600 on
the street and could be sold as 50 to 60 marijuana cigarettes. The
decriminalization of the drug would only empower drug dealers to
continue in their trade, they added.

"Those retail-ready packages are available to anyone with an
allowance," Conley said. "Question 2 is really the 'drug dealer's
protection act,'" Conley said.