DRUG MONEY

To the North Shore activists who are anxiously waiting for
legislators like state Rep. Brad Hill, R-Ipswich, to suddenly reverse
their longtime opposition to decriminalizing marijuana in
Massachusetts, here's some sound advice: Pull up a chair. It looks
like you're going to be waiting for a while. On the other hand, even
Hill - who in 2000 told the Gloucester Daily Times that only a "huge
majority" of the voters could possibly sway him to consider proposing
a marijuana decriminalization bill - appears to be bending ever so
slightly on the issue.

Though he says he still sees marijuana as a dangerous gateway drug,
Hill says pot activists like Georgetown lawyer Steve Epstein raise
some valid points about the economic impact decriminalizing marijuana
could potentially have. That issue, he says, is the one that could
eventually persuade even the most conservative legislators to rethink
their argument. "Court-wise, time-wise and money-wise, it's a lot of
money to spend for one person who makes a mistake," says Hill. "I am
certainly always open to discussion."

Meanwhile for people like Epstein and his fellow advocated at the
Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition (Mass Cann), it's a
discussion that can no longer be ignored. Epstein is quick to point
to a report compiled by Boston University economics professor Jeffrey
Miron which shows that marijuana legalization would save
Massachusetts more than $120 million a year in government expenditure
on police enforcement of prohibition.

On top of that, Miron's report also estimates that legalization would
bring an annual tax revenue of $16.9 million.

The way Mass Cann's Gary Insuik sees it, people are going to buy
marijuana anyway, so why shouldn't the state make the most of it?
"I'm of the personal opinion that if it's legalized and taxed, it
becomes a heck of a revenue stream," says Insuik. "It's a fallacy to
believe that they're actually stopping it now. All they're doing is
artificially increasing the value and keeping the black market strong."

Not to mention, Epstein says, the strain he believes is put on local
law enforcement officers who are still forced to treat marijuana as a
criminal offense. Not only is that expensive in the long run, he
says, it also seems rather unnecessary.

"I think the federal income tax is probably one of the greatest
injustices there is, but this is right up there," says Epstein. "As
far as the number of people affected, we're talking about more than
650,000 nationwide who are handcuffed, brought to the station and
face a judge in a criminal situation. That's not a good use of resources."