VOTERS BACK POT FOR MEDICAL USE

BOSTON -- On Tuesday's ballot, MetroWest voters overwhelmingly approved a
pair of non-binding initiatives that call for decriminalizing marijuana and
legalizing the drug's use for medical purposes.

Another ballot question -- asking voters if they support granting equal
custody rights to fathers and mothers is divorce cases -- also passed by
wide margins in other parts of the region.

Statewide, voters in 12 different Senate and House of Representatives
districts approved a total of four different marijuana-related questions.

In the House's 10th Norfolk district, represented by state Rep. James
Vallee, D-Franklin, 60 percent of 18,960 voters said they support making
marijuana a civil violation, "like a traffic ticket," instead of a criminal
offense.

Also, 68 percent of 71,251 voters in the Worcester and Norfolk senatorial
district, represented by Sen. Richard Moore, D-Uxbridge, voted in favor of
decriminalizing the drug.

A question that asked whether "seriously ill patients" should be allowed to
grow and possess marijuana for medicinal purposes was approved by 67
percent of 18,738 voters in the House's 12th Worcester district, which
includes Northborough and is represented by Rep. Harold Naughton, D-Clinton.

Steven Epstein, spokesman for the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition,
said the questions send a clear message to the 12 lawmakers whose
constituents expressed support for legalizing marijuana.

"It's time," Epstein said. "It's time to abolish the law that allows police
officers to make arrests for marijuana possession. That power is exercised
arbitrarily."

Epstein's group collaborated with the Drug Policy Forum of Massachusetts to
sponsor the ballot initiatives.

Whitney Taylor, the forum's executive director, said recent studies have
debunked the popular belief that marijuana is a gateway drug that leads to
the use of dangerous narcotics.

"We have to get past emotions and base our laws on science and human
rights," she said. "The status quo isn't going to get us anywhere."

Despite their broad support among voters, the proposed reforms appear to
face an uphill battle on Beacon Hill.

Moore, who serves as Senate chairman of the Health Care Committee, said he
hasn't seen any convincing evidence that marijuana is a harmless drug.

"Until there is some scientific evidence or the federal laws permit some
kind of use of it, I don't see what we can do to implement the ballot
question," Moore said.

Using marijuana for medical purposes is "both inappropriate and illegal,"
Moore added.

"There are a lot of things that are popular but aren't of any benefit," he
said.

Vallee, House chairman of the Criminal Justice Committee, said the
questions' supporters haven't persuaded him that legalizing marijuana is
the right course of action.

"I'm certainly open-minded about it, and I haven't been an obstructionist
to the legislation," he said. "But from the standpoint of the legislative
process, I don't think there's support among the legislators to do it."

Meanwhile, voters in Natick, Marlborough, Northborough, Southborough,
Wellesley and Westborough were among those who supported a ballot question
on granting equal custody rights to parents.

The initiative, sponsored by a Boston-based fathers' rights group called
Fathers & Families, asks whether the courts, in separation and divorce
cases, "shall uphold the fundamental right of both parents to the shared
physical and legal custody of their children...unless one parent is found
unfit or the parents agree otherwise, subject to the requirements of
existing child support and abuse prevention laws."

Ned Holstein, president of Fathers & Families, said the question was
supported by around 85 percent of approximately 600,000 voters across the
state -- the largest margin of victory of any initiative or candidate on
Tuesday's ballot, he added.

"It was an absolute landslide," Holstein said. "Ordinary people understand
in their hearts that kids are hurt when they lose one of their parents.
They're better off after a divorce when both parents can have an active and
meaningful role in their lives."

The list of lawmakers whose districts were targeted by the ballot question
included Rep. Stephen LeDuc, a Marlborough Democrat who is House chairman
of the Children's Caucus; Rep. David Linsky, a Natick Democrat who serves
on the Judiciary Committee; Rep. Alice Pesich, D-Wellesley; and Karyn
Polito, R-Shrewsbury.

In Linsky's district, 80 percent of 18,730 voters supported the initiative.

"I support the general concept, but I would want to make sure judges still
have the discretion they need to consider the best interests of the child,"
said Linsky, a lawyer.