BILL WOULD LET TEENS CARRY POT WITH NO THREAT OF JAIL

Setting up a conflict with the Romney administration, lawmakers on
Monday advanced a longstanding Beacon Hill proposal to decriminalize
the possession of enough marijuana for teens to roll dozens of joints.
Approved 6-1 by the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Committee, the
proposal would change the penalty for possessing less than an ounce
of marijuana to a $250 civil fine for anyone 18 years old and
younger. Currently, someone convicted of such an offense can be sent
to jail for up to six months for the crime and pay a $500 fine for a
first offense. According to Lea Palleria Cox of Concerned Citizens
for Drug Prevention Inc. and a bill opponent, an ounce of marijuana
equals roughly 57 joints. The issue has been a source of contention
for years in the Legislature, with the late Sen. Charles Shannon as
its biggest advocate. Lawmakers in the past have included a similar
provision in the budget, only to have it vetoed by former Acting Gov.
Jane Swift.

Gov. Mitt Romney is also a likely opponent to the proposal; Lt. Gov.
Kerry Healey has expressed her opposition to proposal, saying it
could treat marijuana lightly under the law, and Romney's spokesman
said lawmakers should remain tough on drugs.

"Governor Romney believes we should enforce the laws against drugs,
and that we be should be careful not to suggest that we are softening
our view on marijuana use," Eric Fehrnstrom, Romney's director of
communications, said in a statement. "It is important that we
continue to send a message to young people that drugs are bad for
you."

But advocates of decriminalization say the 11 other states that have
taken a similar path, including California, New York, and Nebraska,
have seen no negative affects, and point to the results of
non-binding ballot questions in 2000, 2002, and 2004 when 63 percent
of voters supported the initiative in 19 Massachusetts legislative
districts.

Being pushed by the Drug Policy Forum of Massachusetts, advocates
cite a 2002 report by Boston University Economist Jeffrey Miron that
estimated marijuana possession arrests and court processing costs for
the state at $24.3 million a year.

Committee Co-Chairwoman Rep. Ruth Balser, D-Newton, said kids who are
caught with marijuana often lose their chance at going to college
because they have a criminal record.

"We don't want to ruin someone's life because of a stupid mistake,"
she said. "We're not saying it's a good thing to use marijuana,"
added Sen. Steven Tolman, D-Brighton, co-chairman of the committee.
"But it could ruin a kid's future." Rep. Brian Wallace, D-South
Boston, the lone opponent during today's committee vote, said the use
of alcohol and marijuana often leads to the use of more harmful and
addictive drugs, and for that reason, believes the penalties should
remain tough.

Other opponents agree that marijuana is a gateway to other drugs and
is sending the wrong message to teenagers.

"This flies in the face of trying to keep young people off drugs,"
said William Breault of the Main South Alliance for Public Safety in
Worcester. "But this is what we have to deal with now with this
liberal state government."