DISTRICTS POLLED ON MARIJUANA LAW

Two area senate districts have become local test grounds in the ongoing
debate over marijuana laws.

In the Second Essex and the Third Essex and Middlesex districts, voters
will weigh in on whether possession of the drug should be decriminalized.

In each district, a nonbinding question asks if the district's senator
should "introduce and vote for legislation making possession of marijuana a
civil violation like a traffic ticket." The legislation also would require
police to hold a person under 18 cited for possession "until released to a
parent, legal guardian or brought before a judge."

The Second Essex, represented by Peabody Democrat Frederick E. Berry,
includes Beverly, Danvers, Peabody, Salem, and Topsfield. The Third Essex
and Middlesex, represented by Lynn Democrat Thomas M. McGee, includes Lynn,
Marblehead, Nahant, Swampscott, and parts of Saugus and Melrose.

Both McGee and Berry are unopposed in the November election.

The question was placed on the two senate districts ballots, and in the
10th Norfolk House district, by the Committee to Reform Marijuana Laws, a
group that supports decriminalization of marijuana, according to Steven S.
Epstein, an attorney and Georgetown resident who is heading up the effort.

A separate group, the Drug Policy Forum of Massachusetts, has sponsored two
other ballot measures, both in districts outside the north of Boston area.
One focuses on decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana,
and the other on allowing medical use of marijuana.

Those involved with both groups are members of the Massachusetts Cannabis
Reform Coalition.

Epstein said the ultimate goal of many decriminalization proponents is
legalization. But he said it would not be practical to legalize marijuana
at the state level at this point. Few would likely want to sell the drug
openly for risk of being targeted by federal authorities, he said.

But Epstein said decriminalization would in itself bring significant
benefits, including significant saving by law enforcement agencies because
of reduced court time.

Epstein said the federal government has estimated that about 45 percent of
people over 18 have used marijuana in their lifetime. "This is not a
foreign substance to most Americans anymore," he said.

Essex District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett said decriminalizing marijuana
would be a mistake.

Blodgett noted that currently, the punishment for those charged with
possession of marijuana as a first offense "is not draconian." Typically,
the case is continued without a finding for six months, at which time
barring any other offense the record is sealed.

"That's almost analogous to giving someone a ticket," Blodgett said.

He said he believed it should still go through the criminal process,
however, because "I've become convinced over the years that marijuana is a
gateway drug," referring to a drug that leads to use of other drugs.

He said there has also been "pretty substantial research and medical
findings by scientists that supports the fact that the long-term use of
marijuana does cause memory loss and some brain damage. It does have some
negative long-term effects."

Salem Police Captain Paul Tucker, chief of the department's detective unit,
is also against decriminalizing marijuana possession. "I think [the law]
serves the purpose of keeping people away from a harmful drug that they may
otherwise be interested in using if the criminal penalty weren't in place,"
he said.

Epstein said that although most people arrested for the first time for
marijuana possession have their cases continued without a finding, there
are instances in which the defendant receives a guilty finding. The
punishment is up to a year of probation and a fine of up to $500.

Gary Insuik of Salem, a member of the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform
Coalition, hopes voters will say "yes" on the ballot questions.

"Instead of having to arrest people, they could write them a civil
[summons]," he said. "I think it would turn into a monetary savings for the
court system. Let them deal with real crimes."

In 2000 and 2002, ballot questions calling for decriminalization of
marijuana or for allowing its use for medical purposes were put before
voters in one Senate district and about two dozen House districts, passing
in all of them.

Since 1973, 12 states, including New York and Maine, have adopted
decriminalization measures, according to Epstein. Legislation providing for
decriminalization is currently pending on Beacon Hill.