TIME FOR SERIOUS TALK ABOUT POT

A recent report that Boston leads the nation in marijuana use seemed
to be greeted more with laughter than concern. "Hub goes to pot," the
Boston Herald's front-page headline screamed, "We are the highest
city in the U.S!" Other media outlets reacted with a similar mix of
bemusement and civic pride at the news from a federal agency that 12
percent of Massachusetts adults had smoked marijuana within the last month.

And if you think this isn't a story that applies to North Andover,
ask a few high school seniors who work with community groups and
organizations in town. They continually express amazement at the
number of adult they've met who smoke marijuana.

The reaction in the headlines is perhaps unsurprising, given the
numbers. If that many residents are regular users of an illegal
drug, it's hard to paint it as a serious threat.

The problem is that the law takes it seriously indeed. According to
the Criminal Justice Policy Coalition, more than 2,100 people are
arrested each year in Massachusetts for marijuana possession,
costing taxpayers some $24 million. The idea that people don't go to
jail for marijuana is a myth: Across the country there are thousands
of people serving time for getting caught doing what 12 percent of
metro Boston residents did in the last month. As a general rule,
when a law is that commonly violated, there's a problem with
the law. State legislators, typically too afraid of being called
"soft on drugs" to even entertain reform of marijuana laws, should
take a lesson from the rate of marijuana use and the
less-than-alarmed response to it. Arresting, trying and locking up
people for possession of a drug used safely by millions of people
is no laughing matter.

There is serious discussion to be had about the topic treated so
lightly when the federal report came out. The debate over medical
marijuana rages. Emboldened by a recent Supreme Court ruling,
federal agents this week raided three California cannabis clubs that
for years have been giving seriously ill people the medication they need.

The abuse of marijuana by teenagers is also serious business. There
is ample evidence that pot isn't good for brains that are still
developing. Local middle- and high-school students report that it's
easier for them to get hold of marijuana than alcohol, which should
provoke a discussion over which is more effective at protecting
children, prohibition or regulation. Marijuana is no joke, and
serious leaders shouldn't treat it like one. The Legislature's Joint
Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse is reviewing
legislation making adult possession of marijuana a civil violation
instead of a criminal act. That's a good place to start a serious discussion.