KEEP SAYING 'NO'

Police call marijuana a gateway drug because it can lead to abuse of
other substances.

And local teenagers contacted by The Sun Chronicle say they see the
gate swinging wide open if a bill to decriminalize marijuana passes
on Beacon Hill. The possession of less than an ounce of marijuana
would become a civil violation subject to a $250 fine under a bill
recommended by the Legislature's Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Committee.

Currently, a marijuana conviction is permanently on a defendant's
criminal record.

Attleboro High School sophomore Amanda Pelkey said some teens would
consider trying marijuana if they knew they only had to pay a fine.

`` If it was put in their record, they wouldn't do the drugs because
it would follow them,'' Pelkey, 16, said. She was hanging out after
school at the Bartek Recreation Center in Attleboro.

`` In DARE, they tell you it's bad for you,'' Pelkey said. `` If they
tell you that you can pay a fine, you can do it and get it over with,
and it will go away.''

Some students call that penalty too harsh for people who try drugs
and then quit.

`` You can stop and quit -- and if you quit -- it follows you around,
and people think you did it all the time,'' one male student said.

Supporters in the Legislature say the bill is meant to place the
emphasis on preventing drug abuse, rather than punishing abusers.

Critics say the bill sends kids the wrong message -- that substance
abuse is OK.

That contradicts the lessons in DARE, the Drug Abuse Resistance
Education program.

`` It opens Pandora's Box,'' Attleboro DARE Officer Thomas Wellman
said. `` If they know the penalty is less, I believe it would
increase the number of kids trying it and thinking they can get away
with it, thinking it's no big deal.''

Attleboro seventh-grader Jordan Rodriguez said students are scared
most by the threat of a marijuana conviction going on their permanent
record.

A fine would not deter students from trying marijuana, she
said.

`` I think they would risk it because it won't get on their record,
and they would not get into the trouble they would usually get in,''
said Rodriguez, 13.

Attleboro Youth Center Coordinator Tim Killion agrees.

`` It might lead to more kids trying marijuana, knowing they won't
have to appear in court, just pay a fine,'' Killion said.

Killion supports keeping possession of less than an ounce a criminal
offense.

`` Kids understand that there's rules to live by in society,'' he
said. `` I'm a believer in at least in the beginning, being strict
with kids. As you gain trust with them, let out the rope a little
bit.''

Norfolk DARE Officer Steven Plympton said he doesn't buy supporters'
claims that decriminalizing the crime would be a form of drug prevention.

`` I think there's a lot of prevention out there. I think we're
looking out for the best interests of the kids,'' Plympton said.

`` I really believe there needs to be some penalty,'' he said. ``
What message are you sending out if you don't have a consequence for
your actions?''

The Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition supports the
bill.

Twelve states have similar laws, coalition spokesman Steven Epstein
said.

However, the bill is "not good news for teenagers,'' Epstein
said.

"They will still be handcuffed. They will still be brought to the
(police) station. They will still have to face the wrath of Mom or
Dad or their guardian at the police station,'' he said.

"This is not giving teenagers a free ride by any stretch of the
imagination. If it was one of my teenagers, the $250 would come out
of their hide.''