JOINT MOVE TO TARGET PUBLIC POT SMOKING

Pot smokers flying high over a new law providing simple tickets for
possessing small amounts of weed could still find themselves in cuffs
as city leaders weigh a state recommendation to get tough on public
toking.

I'd sign it in a second," Lynn Mayor Edward "Chip" Clancy said. "I
wasn't in favor of the ballot question. I don't think the expansion of
marijuana use, or any other drug for that matter, is a good idea."

The soft-on-pot law just approved by Bay State voters takes effect
Friday, making possession of less than an ounce of marijuana
punishable by a $100 fine, rather than arrest.

But in guidelines issued by the Executive Office of Public Safety and
Security yesterday, state officials urged cities and towns to pass
local laws to pile on additional fines and make it a crime to smoke
pot in public.

I think communities would have to take a hard look at doing something
like that," said Woburn Mayor Thomas McLaughlin, calling the state's
recommendation "interesting."

Public toking laws were not previously needed on the books because
simple possession was a criminal offense, albeit a
misdemeanor.

Attorney General Martha Coakley, who opposed the pot power play
overwhelmingly approved by voters in November, suggested towns tack on
an additional $300 civil penalty as well as criminal penalties.

Decriminalization backers fear the proposed local crackdown amounts to
an "end-run" around the spirit of the new law.

We're not opposed in principle to some kind of sensible regulation,
however, if it starts to look like this is being done to undo the
wishes of voters, then yes, we would be opposed to that," said Dan
Bernath, spokesman for the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy
Project, which backed the Bay State ballot initiative.

Boston City Councilor Stephen Murphy, chairman of the council's public
safety committee, said he planned to discuss the issue with the board
and Mayor Thomas M. Menino.

I think we should look at what all of our options are," Murphy
said.

Menino spokeswoman Dot Joyce said the mayor had not been briefed on
the guidelines and wanted to reserve comment. Menino shared the
concerns of district attorneys that Question 2 would be a gateway to
weaker pot laws.

But, Joyce said, "the people have voted, and we'll follow the letter
of the law."

Cops and prosecutors have also argued that the new law could nullify
drug testing of cops, bus drivers and MBTA employees. Public Safety
Secretary Kevin Burke, though, said sanctions for flunking drug tests
are unchanged.

You can still provide effective employee discipline," Burke
said.

The new law, similar to others across the country, is designed to
prevent people caught with small amounts of marijuana from having
lifetime criminal records. Rather than arrest and prosecution, the law
requires police to issue a $100 civil fine for a first offense. For
minors, there is a parental notification and education
requirement.

Burke said the law still allows cops to search suspects, seize pot and
arrest drug dealers.