MARIJUANA IN KEENE: ON TOWN SQUARE, AT CITY HALL

KEENE - As city councilors debate a resolution to decriminalize small
amounts of marijuana, a small group has quietly taken matters into
their own hands -- lighting up on Central Square.

"Every day at 4:20 p.m., we get together to smoke pot in the square,"
Noah Wood, 19, of Keene said yesterday. "Everyone smokes it. Well
maybe not everyone, I'm sure, but a lot of people smoke it and so why
keep it a secret? Why keep it illegal? It should be out in the open."

In the drug subculture, 420 refers to the consumption of marijuana.

Wood said he wasn't the one to start the local movement, he's just
been helping by passing the word.

"This kid said to me 'Hey, I heard there's smoking going on in the
common,' " said Jason Hart, 20, who identified himself as a student
at Franklin Pierce University in Rindge. "I'm just against
prohibition. It doesn't work."

Hart said over the last week, the number of smokers at Central Square
has grown to about 30.

"No one's really hassled us," said Wood. "We've seen police circling
the square, but no one's said anything. You know, look at us, we're
out here chilling, doing our thing. No one's gotten hurt. There's no
fights, no car crashes, no one's died. No one's even really noticed."

Last night Sgt. James Cemorelis said the department has not received
any reports of marijuana smoking on the square, but now that officers
have been alerted, will be keeping an eye out.

Just a few hundred feet away at Keene City Hall yesterday afternoon,
retired Keene police officer and former city councilman Frederick
Parsells, 62, stood on the steps, talking with City Councilor James
Duffy about voting for a resolution that would support medical
marijuana and decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.

The resolution essentially has no legal weight if passed -- it would
just be a strong message sent to state legislators, Parsells said.

"I wanted us to send a message to other places like Salem, places
like Portsmouth, other municipalities that we back this and it's
something they might want to consider backing too," Parsells said.
"Keene's always kind of been on the cutting edge of things like
that." Not that Parsells always has been. He admits as a cop, he saw
things more "black and white."

But now he said, "It's more a hazy gray."

"The war (on drugs) is over," Parsells said. "We lost. ... We've
spent millions upon millions of dollars to stop its import and
distribution, all to no avail. I don't condone the use of drugs. I'm
62, I served in Southeast Asia where I understand the stuff was quite
popular and quite easy to get and I didn't use it then, I never used
it. ... But I feel like our laws are an overreaction."

Gov. John Lynch vetoed a bill legalizing medical marijuana use in July.

Attempts to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of
marijuana have gotten support in the New Hampshire House, but have
never made it into law.

Parsells sent a letter to the Keene City Council a few weeks ago
requesting that it look at the issue.

"I just hate to see it when one moment's indiscretion, one night of
stupidity, ruins some 17-year-old kid's chances to get into college,
or the military or from getting meaningful employment," Parsells
said. "Young people do stupid things; smoking pot is a stupid thing,
but it's not the end of the world."

Much to Parsells' surprise, the council took up the issue, sent it to
committee and voted on it last week.

Though it failed by a very slim 8-7 margin, there was confusion over
the vote on whether to write a resolution to decriminalize the drug,
so the issue will be taken up again next Thursday, said Councilor
Mitchell Greenwald.

Technically, the resolution passed by a 9-5 vote. But, Greenwald said
that Councilor Arnold Bailey, after arguing against marijuana for the
entire meeting, was confused and voted to pass the motion, instead of
voting against it. Greenwald said Bailey tried to have the issue
reconsidered at last week's meeting to no avail, because the meeting
had adjourned.

"First of all, if we write the resolution, it's totally meaningless,"
said Greenwald. "We are not a home rule state. We have to follow the
federal and state drug laws. ... So all this is, is a very loud
message from the city of Keene that we back this, and I don't know if
that's true."

The main argument of the council members against the move is that
they don't feel the issue is in the purview of a city council.

"OK, then why don't we talk about health care? Pesticides? Global
Warming? Peace in the Middle East, while we're at it," Greenwald said.

"My fear is that we are going to get so caught up in other issues
that are not our business and drifting into philosophy that we will
be unable to do the business that the people sent us here to do."

Councilor Paula-Ayn Phillips said she was afraid backing a resolution
or law that decriminalizes marijuana could lead people to not being
punished for driving or flying under the influence of drugs or could
encourage people like surgeons to operate under the influence.

Missing from last week's meeting was Councilor Margaret Lynch, who
said that if the resolution comes back to council, she will vote for it.

"I am in support of decriminalizing marijuana," she said. "I think
that it would keep people out of jail which will save taxpayer money
and will save some kid lifelong disappointment for making one mistake."

Lynch said she's not surprised the measure has made it as far as it has.

"In this part of the state," she said. "We tend to be a little more with it."