MARIJUANA, FATHERS' RIGHTS, REDISTRICTING ON NOVEMBER BALLOT

Bush or Kerry won't be the only question facing North Shore voters when they
go to the polls this November.

Along with who should be president, voters in some cities and towns
will also be asked if they want to decriminalize marijuana, give
divorced parents shared custody of their kids, and take away the
Legislature's right to redraw district lines.

All three ballot questions are nonbinding, meaning lawmakers could
choose to ignore the voters' wishes. But if nothing else, the interest
groups who sponsored the questions are hoping to find out where voters
stand on the issues while also sending a message to lawmakers.

"Our goal is to be a little louder and win a few more districts and
change a few more minds on Beacon Hill," said Steven Epstein of the
Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition.

Epstein, a Georgetown lawyer, gathered enough signatures to ask voters
in two North Shore Senate districts whether possession of marijuana
should be punished with nothing more than a civil violation -
something akin to a traffic ticket. He said decriminalizing marijuana
could save the state as much as $25 million - the amount a recent
study showed Massachusetts law enforcement spent in 2002 arresting
adults for possession of the drug.

The marijuana question will be posed to voters in Beverly, Danvers,
Peabody, Salem, Topsfield, Marblehead and Swampscott, communities
represented by state Sens. Frederick Berry of Peabody and Thomas McGee
of Lynn. Epstein said he chose those districts because the senators
are in positions of power - Berry is the Senate Majority Leader and
McGee is co-chairman of the Legislature's Criminal Justice Committee.

Berry said he will take into account how his district votes on the
question, and said he believes it's time to look at easing the
punishment for possession of marijuana.

"It's paramount we take a hard look at the serious punitive
consequences of using marijuana," said Berry, who once voted to
decriminalize marijuana for medicinal use. "I do think they are too
punitive."

But Berry said he's not a fan of relying on the ballot initiative
process to make laws. He said voters don't always read the questions
thoroughly and weigh the consequences.

"My district voted to abolish the income tax, but I don't think the
state could survive without $9 billion of revenue," Berry said.
"People didn't measure the consequences of their vote."

Fathers' Rights

Another ballot question going before local voters this
fall is one sponsored by Fathers & Families, a father's advocacy
group. The question asks voters whether they want their lawmaker to
vote for a law that would give parents shared physical and legal
custody of their children in the case of a divorce. The question will
be posed to voters in Beverly, Salem, Danvers, West Peabody and Topsfield.

"In Massachusetts, most of the time the mother is awarded sole
physical custody," said Dan Hogan, managing director of Fathers &
Families. "We're saying there should be a default position of shared
physical and legal custody, in which time spent with each parent is
maximized so far as is practical." Hogan said research has shown that
children are "better off" when their fathers remain involved following
a divorce. He said there are several "shared parenting" bills floating
around in the Legislature, and his group wants to know where the
public stands on the issue.

Redrawing District Lines

A third ballot question will be posed to
Salem voters. The question, sponsored by Common Cause, asks voters
whether Salem's state representative should vote to take away the
Legislature's right to redraw congressional and legislative districts
every 10 years and place the responsibility in the hands of an
independent commission.

"We want to be able to choose the incumbent, rather than have the
incumbent draw the lines and choose themselves," said Jeanne
Kempthorne of Salem, a Common Cause board member. Kempthorne stood
outside the Salem train station, post office and library to collect
the 200 signatures necessary to get the question on the ballot in the
city.

Common Cause, which got the question on the ballot in 15 state
representative districts, is hoping to eventually change the state
constitution by pushing for an amendment establishing a special
redistricting commission. That question wouldn't reach voters until
at least 2008.