PATRIOT ACT, MARIJUANA, BULLYING ON LOCAL BALLOTS THIS FALL

BOSTON - Voters in 61 state House and Senate districts will have a
chance this fall to weigh in on a number of policy questions.
Information released today by Secretary of State Bill Galvin's office
show the issues range from the value of the Patriot Act and the use
of marijuana for medical purposes to bullying in the workplace.

There are eleven nonbinding questions in all. Voters in 35 House
districts and one Senate district will be able to weigh in on
legislation supporting ``shared parenting'' in divorce cases unless
there's evidence that one parent is unfit.

Voters in nine House districts can have their say on the Patriot Act.
Fifteen districts will decide whether to instruct their state
representatives to support a constitutional amendment that would
strip the state Legislature of its redistricting powers.

And one of several questions on marijuana use deals with allowing
patients to possess and grow small amounts of pot and another making
possession of marijuana more like a traffic ticket than a criminal
offense.