MARIJUANA DECRIMINALIZATION PASSES BY WIDE MARGIN

NEWBURYPORT - Area voters joined the rest of the state in approving
by a 2-1 ratio a measure to decriminalize marijuana, according to
unofficial ballot results last night.

Question 2, which asked voters to decriminalize possession of an
ounce or less of marijuana to a civil offense punishable by a $100
fine for people over 18, passed in the area by about 30,400 votes to
15,300, including a 7,200 to 3,500 margin in Newburyport, a 5,800 to
2,600 margin in Amesbury and a 2,800 to 1,400 margin in Salisbury.
The measure will go into effect four weeks after the election is
certified by the secretary of state.

Steve Epstein, a Georgetown resident and a director of the
Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition, said he was pleased by the
question's success and thought it could have passed by an even wider
margin.

"It feels great," Epstein said. "I think we could've busted 70
percent with a real campaign."

Many voters said decriminalization was a reasonable step. Newburyport
resident Mike Slobodnik voted yes on 2 and said he has "been in
trouble" with police regarding marijuana before. Many people use
marijuana, he said, and changing the law would bring it in step with
the times and allow police to focus on other problems.

"They should be out doing better things," Slobodnik
said.

Newburyport resident Dale Eckert said the current law might benefit
from change, but he voted no because he thought decriminalization
should only be for people older than 21. To do otherwise would
encourage younger people to use the drug, he said.

But that opinion comes from the benefit of experience, Eckert
said.

"Twenty years ago, I might have said different," he
joked.

Amesbury resident Monica Brile said she voted yes so younger people
wouldn't have a felony on their record for using marijuana.

"I'd hate for people to not be able to get jobs for what was perhaps
a dumb mistake," Brile said. "I'm a high school teacher. I know kids
make mistakes."

Some voters saw decriminalization as a first step toward eventual
legalization of marijuana but differed on whether or not that was a
good thing. Dawn Robertson, a Newburyport resident who voted yes,
said decriminalization and then legalization would stop wasting tax
dollars and jail space. But Salisbury resident George Beaton, who
voted no, said any small change in the law would lead to big problems
later on.

"You start with a crack and you get a canyon," Beaton
said.

Amesbury resident Norma Cote voted yes, but said one chance is all
any offender should get.

"The second time, lock them up forever," Cote said.

Pat Sharkey, another Salisbury resident who voted no, also said that
decriminalization would increase marijuana use in general. For
Salisbury resident Ann Nichols, though, marijuana is not as big a
concern as legal substances, like alcohol. Her sister lost a leg
after an accident caused by a six-time drunken driver, which gives
her a different perspective on a "natural herb" like marijuana,
Nichols said.

"It's a little bit ridiculous to focus on marijuana when there's
repeat offenders with DUIs out there," Nichols said.

And for Salisbury voter Dorothy Charette, a vote to approve Question
2 was a vote to lighten her workload.

"I work for a courthouse, so if this will make it less crowded, why
not?" Charette joked.