RELAX PENALTIES FOR POT USE

So, Tom Reilly thinks threatening teenagers with jail is the best way
to keep them off drugs ("Reilly slams soft bill on pot," Feb. 15). Was
he firing from the hip, as in his first choice for a lieutenant?
Opinion polls nationwide reveal that most oppose arresting and
jailing nonviolent marijuana smokers.

In Massachusetts elections since 2000, the majority of voters in three
senate and 23 representative districts have supported making
marijuana possession a civil violation and not a crime. The voters
recognize the criminal justice system is not the place to express
disapproval. They understand that parents are the best anti-drug.
Parent-imposed punishments and voluntary counseling are more likely
to rehabilitate the child than state-imposed punishments. When they
do not, the police or parents of a child below the age of 17 may
petition the Juvenile Court that the child is in need of services.

The Court can then use the coercive power of the state to help the
parents and child.

The best policy for marijuana is to legalize, tax and regulate this
easily grown plant, used in the past month by about 10 percent of
Massachusetts adult population, while prohibiting it to children
as we do tobacco and alcohol. Until the federal prohibition is
relaxed the decriminalization proposed is humane and sensible.

Steven S. Epstein