STATE BILL WOULD DECRIMINALIZE POSSESSION OF LESS THAN AN OUNCE OF MARIJUANA

WATERBURY - John Carusello has sold pipes and related products for 30
years at his Lakewood Road shop, and he would love to see his
customers put those products to use without fear of jail.

"We sell everything for tobacco," Carusello said, carefully, from
behind a counter stocked with glass pipes in a wide range of colors,
shapes and sizes. What goes in those pipes when the customers go home,
Carusello said, is not his business. "We don't ask."

A bill now under review by the legislature's Judiciary Committee would
create some peace of mind for many of Carusello's customers, and add
Connecticut to a growing list of states that have decriminalized the
possession of small quantities of marijuana, turning a misdemeanor
offense that can bring up to a year in prison into an infraction
similar to a speeding ticket.

Senate Majority Leader Martin M. Looney took to the airwaves Friday to
pitch relaxation of marijuana penalties, telling Connecticut Public
Radio listeners that the bill he is sponsoring with Sen. Toni N. Harp,
D-New Haven, would save the state millions of much-needed dollars.

Looney cited estimates from neighboring Massachusetts, where voters
last year were pitched $30 million in annual savings for law
enforcement agencies resulting from decriminalization of marijuana.
The law passed by a nearly two-thirds majority at a November
referendum. Connecticut, Looney reasoned, would save about half that
much, based on relative population.

"There will necessarily be some savings," Looney said, adding that the
stigma suffered by those convicted of the crime of possessing a small
amount of marijuana is another social cost. He did not return a call
seeking additional comment.

Police Superintendent Neil O'Leary is among those who question
Loonie's conclusion on savings, and said he is "adamantly opposed" to
decriminalization.