BALLOT TO INCLUDE POT QUESTION

BOSTON -- Residents in Ashby, Ashburnham and Gardner will vote on a ballot
question in November that would gauge public support for legislation that
decriminalizes marijuana possession.

The question would read, "Shall the state representative from this district
be instructed to vote in favor of legislation that would make possession of
less than one ounce of marijuana a civil violation, subject to a maximum
fine of $100 and not subject to any criminal penalties?"

Rep. Brian Knuuttila, D-Gardner, and Republican William Hunt of Gardner are
vying for the 2nd Worcester district seat, which also includes Royalston
and Winchendon. Neither were available for comment Monday.

Similar questions are expected to appear on the ballot in 20 state
representative districts.

The Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition is behind the effort. The
questions have been certified by the secretary of state's office and are
now under review by the attorney general's office. Attorney General Thomas
Reilly's office reviews the questions to make sure they qualify as a public
policy issue.

Steven Epstein, founder of MassCann, said the state could immediately save
"millions of tax dollars in police overtime, public defenders and
probation," and reduce the backlog in the criminal courts by making the
possession of marijuana a civil, not criminal offense.

But Epstein said the real savings to the taxpayers will come in public
safety -- if police officers cut back on time spent booking the low-level
offenders and writing reports, they will be able to put in more time on the
street.

Epstein also described it as a moral issue. He said the current law
"persecutes otherwise law-abiding citizens and the ill, terrorizing people
with the threat of arrest when they are harming no one or trying to
alleviate life-threatening medical conditions or the effects of their other
therapies."

The current law, according to MassCann, damages over 10,000 families every
year when a breadwinner or other loved one gets a criminal record and
suffers loss of a driver's license instead of paying a civil fine, like a
speeding ticket.

MassCann conducted a similar campaign in 2000, when 18 cities and towns
passed similar measures by a two-thirds margin. No new laws have been
enacted however that would ease penalties for marijuana use or possession.

There are four questions this year, all worded slightly differently. They
are targeted in communities where the coalition has volunteers or they are
represented by lawmakers who have stalled legislation decriminalizing
marijuana possession, Epstein said.

"It's important to let them know that their people by a good margin support
ending the arrest of adults in possession of marijuana," Epstein said.

In West Boylston and several precincts in Worcester, voters will be asked,
"Shall the state representative from this district be instructed to vote
for legislation that would allow patients with certain diseases, who have a
written doctor's recommendation, to possess and grow small amounts of
Cannabis marijuana for their personal use until such time that the federal
government puts into an effective distribution system for these patients?"

In Randolph, Quincy, Norwood, Walpole, Rockland, Hanover, Norwell,
Charleston, South Boston, Brookline, West Roxbury, Roslindale, Jamaica
Plain, Hyde Park, Allston, Brighton, Ashby, Ashburnham, Gardner, Royalston,
Winchendon, Barre, Brookfield, Hardwick, New Braintree, North Brookfield,
Petersham, Phillipston, Spencer, Templeton, Ware and West Brookfield, West
Boylston and several Worcester precincts, voters will be asked, "Shall the
state representative from this district be instructed to vote in favor of
legislation that would make possession of less than one ounce of marijuana
a civil violation, subject to a maximum fine of $100 and not subject to any
criminal penalties?"

In Amesbury, Newburyport, Salisbury, Georgetown, Groveland, Haverhill,
Merrimac, Newbury, Rowley, West Newbury, Andover, Boxford, Methuen and two
North Andover precincts, voters will be asked, "Shall the state
representative from this district be instructed to introduce and vote for
legislation making possession of marijuana a civil violation, like a
traffic ticket instead of a criminal offense, and requiring the police to
hold a person under 18 who is cited for possession until the person is
released to a parent or legal guardian or brought before a judge?"

And in Athol, Erving, Gill, Greenfield, Orange and Warwick, voters will be
asked, "Shall the state representative from this district be instructed to
vote in favor of legislation that would allow licensed farmers in
Massachusetts to grow Cannabis hemp a crop with a 1 percent or less, THC,
the active ingredient in marijuana for legitimate agricultural and
industrial purposes?"