HIGH TIME FOR DECRIMINALIZING POT?

If you have teenage kids, sometimes the most gracious thing you can
do as a parent is to fade into the background. You probably shouldn't
shop at Abercombie and Fitch, you don't need to play air guitar and
regale your kids with stories about The Who's reunion concert and you
really don't need to end up in the police log of your local newspaper
for possession of marijuana.

From 1990 to 2002, roughly 6.2 million people across the United
States were arrested for possession of pot. According to FBI stats,
8,975 Massachusetts residents were busted in 2000. And the biggest
fans of the drug aren't kids smoking in the boy's room, it's adults
ages 35 to 49, men and women -- the folks at the country club, the
members of the PTO, the people who sit next to you every Sunday in church.

Groups and organizations bent on changing or reforming drug laws are
looking at those numbers and seeing some hope. Here in the Bay State
the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition or MassCann has been
working to change public policy on marijuana for decades. The
organization's latest push is to place a binding referendum on the
2008 ballot that would make possession of small amounts of marijuana
- an ounce or less - a civil violation, something similar to a
traffic ticket. There would be a fine of $100 that would go to the
city or town in which the offense was committed.

If all that sounds a little familiar, that's because it is. In 2000,
2002, 2004 and 2006 voters in different representative and senate
districts throughout the state checked boxes on ballot questions to
decriminalize marijuana. In those four elections, 484,791 people
voted to reform marijuana laws while 277,285 voted against any change.

But those were non-binding questions that were meant to take the
pulse of the electorate. This time around MassCann is working toward
a binding referendum which, at least in theory, means voters will
have the final say.

"This is an issue of fundamental liberty," says Steve Epstein, a
Georgetown lawyer who heads up MassCann. "You can't criminalize
something that 9 percent of the population has done within the past month."

And that seems particularly true when the 9 percent includes
taxpayers with mortgages, cars, kids and dogs. Some battles you win
with a quick knock-out punch. In others, it's endurance that sees you
through to a victory.

According to the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, we now have the
most "drug-experienced" generation of parents on record. Even if
adults don't smoke marijuana they are culturally familiar with it and
they view it is less of a risk than past generations.

And while that group may not be ready to vote to legalize pot, they
do seem receptive to taking the interim step of decriminalizing it.

The Costs

This week, the Showtime comedy "Weeds" kicks off its third season.
For those who haven't been watching, the show is about a single
mother and two kids who move to an affluent suburb in California. In
order to make ends meet, mom starts selling marijuana to her rich
yuppie neighbors.

The show has picked up nearly two dozen nominations for Emmy, Golden
Globe and Screen Actor Guild awards in part because it hits a chord.
No doubt this is what marijuana use looks like for a lot of people today.

Ron, a 38-year-old machinist from Danvers, says he's smoked marijuana
since he was a teenager. He likes it, and he doesn't plan to stop.

"It takes the edge off," he says. "It's a way to relax. I'm not
hurting anyone and I think I'm pretty responsible."

If it's on the ballot, Ron says he would definitely vote to
decriminalize marijuana. It would put an end to that unpleasant wave
of paranoia he feels when buying it and carrying it home, and it just
makes sense.

"I know a couple of people who have been busted for weed," he says.
"It's not like it ruined them, but it was a huge pain in the butt."

Ending that pain is one of MassCann and Epstein's big arguments in
pushing for decriminalization. According to Jeffrey Miron, an
economics professor at Boston University, the state stands to save
about $24 million a year if it decriminalizes marijuana. The new law
would free up money we're now spending on police, prosecutors, state
forensic laboratories, court clerical personnel, judges, and prisons
in connection with marijuana possession offenses.

On the flip side, the new law would be bring some cash into
communities - although it's nothing cities and towns will be able to
use to balance their school budgets. In 2004, Beverly reported 40
arrests for possession, Peabody had 30 and Marblehead police arrested
19 people. With $100 fine for each offense, we're not talking big money.

Peabody Police Chief Robert Champagne thinks MassCann's math sounds a
little sketchy, a little inflated. Champagne says that often, when
someone is charged for possession of marijuana it's because they've
already been stopped for breaking some other law.

"How often do police go into a living room and charge someone with
possession - never," he says. "We're not wasting our time and energy
on that type of low-level enforcement."

Champagne thinks decriminalization would be a step in the wrong
direction. To him, throwing out the laws means we are tacitly
condoning or even accepting marijuana use, and he worries that the
social costs are just too high.

"Who's going to be watching the kids, or watching grandma when mom's
stoned?" he asks.

Epstein acknowledges that marijuana can cause problems for some people.

"I won't say that marijuana is a harmless substance," he says. "With
some people it becomes such a focus it can interfere with obligations
to family and employers."

But alcohol and tobacco are not harmless substances, and we leave the
use of those products up to individuals hoping that personal
integrity and responsible use kick in along the way.

What about the kids?

Two years ago, the popular parody newspaper, The Onion, which
satirizes events both real and imaginary, ran a short piece about a
16-year-old girl from Dedham who vowed never again to experiment with
marijuana after coming homing and finding her parents, Harold and
Judy, "obviously baked."

"Dad got all paranoid about the mortgage rate while Mom spent an hour
giggling about how dusty the ceiling fan was. It was so sad and
depressing," says the girl who adds she was grateful to be scared
straight before she made a fool of herself again.

Although marijuana use among kids remains high, study after study has
reported a slight decrease over the years. Some worry that
decriminalizing marijuana could reverse that trend. But Epstein's
proposals have some built-in safeguards.

In both a decriminalization bill filed by state Sen. Bruce Tarr on
behalf of Epstein and the ballot question, anyone under 18 who is
caught with marijuana would be brought home to their parents. Like
adults, juveniles would be subject to a $100 fine, but unlike adults
they would be mandated to attend a drug education program. And if
they fail to complete that drug education program within a year, them
fine would bump up to $1,000 with both the juvenile and parents
liable for that fine.

Still, even some adults who favor decriminalization do have some
concerns about how such a move might change drug use among kids.
Some, like Chief Champagne, have no doubt that pot is a gateway drug.

Champagne says he's seen a lot of lives wrecked by drug addiction and
abuse and there's no doubt in his mind that those people started
those personal downward journeys by smoking marijuana.

Topsfield police Chief Evan Haglund also feels that marijuana is a
stepping stone to other drugs, and like Champagne he feels
decriminalizing pot would be a mistake.

"A lot of property crimes are related to drug use," he says. "It's
really a quality of life issue."

Epstein agrees that most heroin addicts probably did start out
smoking pot. But he likes to take the numbers and turn them around.
Of the 80 million people in the United States who have said that
they have at least experimented with marijuana only a tiny fraction
have gone on to other drugs - and that escalation can often be
attributed to a long list of other factors. Epstein does however,
concede that there may be a link between marijuana use and
hallucinogens - drugs that users often claim expand consciousness and
even spark creativity.

Devin, a 19-year-old from Gloucester who regularly smokes pot, says
he has no interest in harder drugs.

"It's not a gateway drug, that's just propaganda," he says, adding
that most of the people he knows who smoke are intelligent people
with full and interesting lives. He has a buddy who's favorite
pastime when he's high is to go home and read.

Mack, another friend who also smokes frequently, says it's really no
different than going to a bar and having a drink.

"Like everything else, you just have to learn to do it responsibly," he says.

And that's no more or no less than what Epstein and MassCann want
this time around. Responsible people making their own decision about
marijuana use without the fear of criminal prosecution.

This week, the Attorney General's office is reviewing MassCann's
ballot question to make sure it complies with state law. Once that
hurdle is passed it will be up to Epstein and the organization's
volunteers to collect the 67,000-plus signatures needed to put the
question on the 2008 ballot.

And if it turns out to be a go, a lot of people expect to see
pro-marijuana groups from all over the country flood in and wage a
campaign to win over voters.

But no matter what happens in November, 2008, you can expect to see
Epstein and MassCann back in 2010 either with a new decriminalization
campaign or push for straight legalization.

"We won't stop fighting until marijuana is regulated like tobacco and
alcohol," says Epstein.