VOTERS SUPPORT MARIJUANA REFORM

Steven Epstein is pleased with the numbers.

"We won," he said. "We won across the board."

Epstein, a Georgetown resident, lawyer, and one of the founders of the
Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition, is celebrating strong local support
for the decriminalization of marijuana.

This past Tuesday, while voters in Nevada, Ohio, and Arizona rejected ballot
questions that would have legalized the possession of marijuana, Essex
County residents in towns such as Amesbury, Groveland, Rowley, and Merrimac
supported the decriminalization of the drug, in some towns by more than 60
percent of the vote.

The measure was Question 4 on the local ballot. Three Essex County
districts joined 16 others around the state in the vote. Chelsea voted
1,654-1,250 in favor of decriminalization. Boston and Quincy weighed in on
the issue as well.

The votes were non-binding, and the approval only means that residents have
voted to instruct their representatives to support legislation that would
decriminalize possession of the drug. But Epstein and those who lobbied the
district hope the numbers persuade more politicians to support legislation
that would make the possession of marijuana a civil offense, like a traffic
ticket. According to a recent Boston University study, the change would
free up about $24 million spent annually in the state on marijuana
possession cases in the courts.

"There has to be a better way," Epstein said, of the many cases that involve
defendants who are caught with small amounts of marijuana. "We spend
millions and millions."

In the 1st Essex House District, encompassing Newburyport, Salisbury and
Amesbury, 63 percent of the voters favored decriminalization. The 2nd
District, which includes, Georgetown, Groveland, Haverhill, Merrimac,
Newbury, Rowley, and West Newbury, endorsed decriminalization with 60
percent of the vote. The 18th Essex House District, which includes parts of
Haverhill and Georgetown as well as towns such as Andover and Boxford,
showed similar support.

Numbers were similar two years ago when towns including Hamilton, Ipswich,
Manchester and Boxford voted on the question.

Epstein who also serves on Georgetown's Zoning Board of Appeals and the
Cable Advisory Commission, said he must now use the nonbinding vote to push
legislators.

Supporting and defending those who use marijuana has been an uphill battle,
Epstein said, one that he has fought as an activist and lawyer representing
those who have been caught growing and possessing the drug. Epstein was one
of the founders and original members of the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform
Coalition, which was incorporated in 1990.

He spends much of his time talking to local law enforcement officers and
legislators about the issue. Politicians are often afraid to support any
measure that could be perceived as pro-marijuana, regardless of the opinions
of their constituents, he said.

But he maintains that numbers as solid as last week's cannot be ignored.

"We got more voters in the Essex district than she did," Epstein said, of
Representative-elect Barbara L'Italien, who will represent the 18th District
that includes parts of Haverhill and Georgetown. "I hope she keeps that in
mind when I call."

Another representative, West Newbury Democrat Harriet Stanley, has not
supported decriminalization. She called marijuana "a gateway drug," one
that leads to the abuse of more destructive substances.

"I do not support the decriminalizing, making it like a traffic ticket," she
said. "I'm not sure we should be encouraging it in any way."

Still she said she has to pay attention to the numbers.

"I was really surprised," she said. "In Rowley, where people were most
supportive of Mitt Romney, they were very supportive of decriminalization.
You have to pay attention to that."

Stanley said she supports the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

"That doesn't mean growing it on your windowsill and not being criminally
charged," she said. "That means I support actually getting a prescription
from a doctor, like you would with any other medication."

Still, Stanley said she will have to rethink her stance on the drug, since
so many of her constituents support the criminal to civil change. "It's an
issue that has legs, not just a blip on the screen, not something that will
just go away, she said.

Epstein said he hopes the vote can also be used as a tool to get the support
of public safety officers. Boxford's police chief, for instance, has
supported the decriminalization measure.

More local law enforcement officials are now considering the issue because
of the ballot question, weighing whether decriminalization might make more
time for other cases.

Groveland Police Chief Ronald Weeks said he has not supported making
possession a civil offense because he does not want to make it any easier
for people to use marijuana. But he said he can see Epstein's point of
view.

"I'm not saying I couldn't be convinced," Weeks said. "I know we spend a
lot of our resources and the court's resources on this."

Epstein said that although some local marijuana advocates hope for a binding
statewide ballot question for the next election, he would rather count on
legislators.

He said politicians need to acknowledge that even some of the most affluent
and educated people in Essex County use the drug and are supportive to make
it easier to possess.

"The more votes, the more sponsors, the more people won't be afraid to sign
on," he said, of the legislation. "With this vote, maybe the legislators
will do the right thing."