Massachusetts Sensible Marijuana Policy Initiative
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The Sensible Marijuana Policy Initiative, also known as Massachusetts Ballot Question 2, was an initiated state statute that replaced prior
criminal In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...
penalties with new
civil Civil may refer to: *Civic virtue, or civility *Civil action, or lawsuit * Civil affairs *Civil and political rights *Civil disobedience *Civil engineering *Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism *Civilian, someone not a membe ...
penalties on adults possessing an ounce or less of
marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...
. The initiative appeared on the November 4, 2008, ballot in
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
. The measure was passed on Nov 4. and became public law on January 2, 2009 Question 2: *Replaced criminal penalties with a US$100 fine of which the proceeds go to the city where the offense takes place. *Eliminated the collection of Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) reports for minor marijuana related infractions. *Maintained then-current penalties for selling, growing, and trafficking marijuana, as well as the prohibition against
driving under the influence Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...
of marijuana. *The law requires additional penalties for minors such as Parental notification, compulsory drug awareness program, and 10 hours community service that was not required under prior law. It also requires a larger US$1,000 fine and possible delinquency proceedings for those under 17 if they do not complete the requirements of the law. The law represents a break with prior law in Massachusetts, where people charged with marijuana possession faced criminal penalties of up to six months in jail and a US$500 fine, as well as a CORI report being filed. On Tuesday, September 10, 2008, a city councillor in
Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...
called for a vote on a measure to express the opposition by the city of Worcester to the initiative. The city council rejected and voted down the measure by a 10-1 vote, with the only vote for the measure coming from the councillor that requested the vote.


Supporters

The
Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy The Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy is a Boston, Massachusetts based organization that was devoted to passing Question 2, a cannabis decriminalization initiative also known as the Massachusetts Sensible Marijuana Policy Initiative that wa ...
is the leading proponent of the initiative.


Organizations

*
National Association of Social Workers The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is a professional organization of social workers in the United States. NASW has about 120,000 members. The NASW provides guidance, research, up to date information, advocacy, and other resources f ...
—Massachusetts Chapter * Greater Boston Civil Rights Coalition * Criminal Justice Policy Coalition *
American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
— National *
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition The Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), formerly Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization group of current and former police, judges, prosecutors, and other criminal justice professionals who use their ex ...
* American Civil Liberties Union — Massachusetts chapter *
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML ) is a social welfare organization based in Washington, D.C., that advocates for the reform of marijuana laws in the United States regarding both medical and non-medical use. Acc ...
* Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition, Inc. (aka "MassCann") * Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst Cannabis Reform Coalition (not part of prev. listed group, "MassCann") * Union of Minority Neighborhoods * The Boston Worker's Alliance *
Marijuana Policy Project The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) is the largest organization working solely on marijuana policy reform in the United States in terms of its budget, number of members, and staff. Its stated aims are to: (1) increase public support for non-pu ...
*
Brookline Brookline may refer to: Places in the United States * Brookline, Massachusetts, a town near Boston * Brookline, Missouri * Brookline, New Hampshire * Brookline (Pittsburgh), a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania * Brookline, Vermont See ...
Police Department


Individuals

* Paul T. Breeden - President/CEO Boston Live Magazine/Boston Live Charity Fund Inc. * Ronald Ansin, ACLU, philanthropist * Charles H. Baron, Esq., Boston College School of Law * Jack Cole, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition * Michael D. Cutler, Esq. * Richard Elliott Doblin, PhD, MAPS * Sergeant Howard Donohue, a 33-year veteran of the Boston Police Department * Lester Grinspoon, M.D., associate professor emeritus of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School * John H. Halpern, M.D., assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School * Massachusetts state Sen. Patricia Jehlen (D-Second Middlesex), chair of the Joint Committee on Elder Affairs and Vice-Chair of the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight * Wendy Kaminer, Esq., ACLU, author, journalist * Woody Kaplan, ACLU, philanthropist * Thomas R. Kiley, Esq., Cosgrove, Eisenberg & Kiley * Karen Klein, Brandeis University, Unitarian Universalists for Drug Policy Reform * Lanny Kutakoff, Partakers, Inc. * Dr. Robert Meenan, dean of the Boston University School of Public Health * Lieutenant Thomas Nolan, a 30-year veteran of the Boston Police Department who now teaches criminology at Boston University * Massachusetts state Rep. Frank Smizik (D-Fifteenth Norfolk), chair of the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture * Carl Valvo, Esq., Cosgrove, Eisenberg & Kiley * Ernest "Tony" Windsor, Esq., Massachusetts Law Reform Institute * George Soros - Hedge Fund Manager * Massachusetts State Rep. Jim O'Day (D-fourteenth Worcester)


Religious Leaders

* Rev. Jean Alexander, Auburndale * Rabbi Alan Alpert, Leominster * Rev. Molly Baskette, Somerville * Father Richard Beaulieu, Winchester * Rev. Jim Bronwell, Barre * Rev. Suzanne Brunnquell, Pittsfield * Rev. Sarah Buteux, Amherst * Rev. Dr. Jan Carlsson-Bull, Cohasset * Rev. Thomas Carlton, Ludlow * Rev. Stephen Cook * Father Richard Crowley, Middleboro * Rev. C. Edward Deyton, Andover * Father Thomas Dilorenzo, Winthrop * Rev. Jonathan Drury, Andover * Rev. Leigh Dry, Hopkinton * Rev. Kathrene Duhon, Great Barrington * Rev. Lisa Durkee Abbott, West Brookfield * Rev. Dr. Dorothy May Emerson, Billerica * Rev. Marc Fredette, Waltham * Rev. Tamarack Garlow, Ashley Falls * Rev. John Gibbons, Bedford * Rev. Jamie Green, West Groton * Rev. Edward Hardy, Abington * Rev. William Hobbs, Athol * Rev. Dr. Anne Ierardi, Yarmouthport * Ms. Marion Jansen, Great Barrington * Rev. David Johnson, Plymouth * Rev. Bill Leggett, Milford * Father John Lis, Williamsburg * Rev. Jeffrey Long-Middleton, Acton * Rev. Ian Lynch, Brimfield * Rev. Art McDonald, Essex * Rabbi Richard Messing, North Easton * Rev. Stephen Philbrick, Cummington * Rev. Susie Phoenix, Lee * Rev. Katherine Reis, Rockport * Rev. Edmund Robinson, Chatham * Rev. Ken Sawyer, Wayland * Rev. Dr. Victor Scalise, Somerville * Rev. Warren Scamman, Windsor * Rev. Richard Schlak, Foxboro * Rev. Stephen Shick, Hudson * Rev. Judith Smith-Valley, Brewster * Rev. Paul Sprecher, Hingham * Rev. C. William Steelman, Nantucket * Rev. Rachel Tedesco, Taunton * Rev. Jonathan Tetherly, Chicopee * Rev. Patricia Tummino, Middleboro * Rabbi Andrew Vogel, Brookline * Rev. Vicki Woods, Worcester * Rev. Dr. Judith Wright, Boylston


Newspaper Editorial endorsements

* The Daily Free Press * The Bay state Banner * The Harvard Crimson * The Newton TAB * The Milford Daily News * The Springfield Republican * The Metrowest Daily News * The Daily News Tribune * The Brookline TAB * The Fall River Herald News * The Danvers Herald * MIT Tech


Polls

A
Suffolk University Suffolk University is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. With 7,560 students (includes all campuses, 7,379 at the Boston location alone), it is the eighth-largest university in metropolitan Boston. It was founded as a l ...
/ WHDH Channel 7 poll has shown that 72 percent of
Greater Boston Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston (the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England) and its surrounding areas. The region forms the northern ar ...
residents are in favor of replacing criminal penalties with civil fines for carrying an ounce or less of marijuana. "The public may be signaling that pursuing small-time marijuana users is a waste of taxpayer resources," said David Paleologos, director of the Political Research Bureau at Suffolk University. "This issue suggests there is a libertarian streak in the thinking of the Massachusetts voter." The poll was conducted with 400 residents between July 31 and August 3, 2008. A FastTrack poll by WBZ TV /Survey USA on September 17 showed that 69% of all Massachusetts voters would favor either decriminalization or legalization. It was broken down to 30% want it remain a crime, 31% want it changed to a civil fine and 38% would like it to be legalized completely. The poll had a margin of error of 4.5%.


Arguments in favor

Supporting arguments advanced by the proponents include:''Boston Herald:'' "Marijuana measures head to voters, Hill," Jan. 27, 2008
/ref> *It would save
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
US$130 million per year, according to a 2002 report by Harvard economist
Jeffrey Miron Jeffrey Alan "Jeff" Miron (; born January 31, 1957) is an American economist. He served as the chairman of the Department of Economics at Boston University from 1992 to 1998, and currently teaches at Harvard University, serving as a Senior Lectur ...
. *Instances of minor marijuana possession would no longer affect if people can obtain jobs, housing, and student loans. *Currently there are about 2.8 million CORI records on file for a population of 6 million. *Small convictions have been shown to have little or no impact on drug use.


History

The
National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse The Shafer Commission, formally known as the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, was appointed by U.S. President Richard Nixon in the early 1970s. Its chairman was former Pennsylvania Governor Raymond P. Shafer. The commission is ...
(also known as the Shafer Commission) was created by Public Law 91-513 in 1972 to study marijuana abuse in the United States. It published its findings in a report called ''Marihuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding'' and recommended that the president should decriminalize possession of marijuana in amounts that constituted "simple possession". So far 30 non-binding public policy questions calling for civil fines for possession of marijuana rather than criminal penalties have passed in legislative districts throughout Massachusetts since 2000. These questions were passed with an average of 62% of the vote in favor. No Public policy question related to replacing criminal penalties with civil fines has ever failed in the state of Massachusetts. The Joint Mental Health and Substance Abuse Committee of the
Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, ...
voted 6-1 in favor of a bill that would have made possession of less than an ounce of marijuana punishable by a civil fine.


Funding

Billionaire
George Soros George Soros ( name written in eastern order), (born György Schwartz, August 12, 1930) is a Hungarian-American businessman and philanthropist. , he had a net worth of US$8.6 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated mo ...
made an initial contribution of $400,000. The committee has also received $750,000 cash as well as about $320,000 in donated time and services from the
Marijuana Policy Project The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) is the largest organization working solely on marijuana policy reform in the United States in terms of its budget, number of members, and staff. Its stated aims are to: (1) increase public support for non-pu ...
, an organization created to reform marijuana laws in the United States. According to campaign finance reports, as of November 1, 2008, the committee has raised approximately $1,250,000 to help pass the measure with $40,060.90 remaining.


Opposition

The Coalition for Safe Streets, a committee organized to oppose Question 2, launched a statewide campaign Sept. 5 to defeat the measure. Jonathan W. Blodgett, the Essex County District Attorney serves as the Coalition's treasurer and chairman. Michael O'Keefe, the president of the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association, is opposed to the initiative. He believes that the measure will lead to an increase in minors using the drug by sending the wrong message to them. The O'Keefe Committee is one of ten committees representing district attorneys in Massachusetts that have contributed to the Coalition. William Breault, chairman of the Main South Alliance for Public Safety in Worcester, also plans to oppose this initiative.


Funding

According to Campaign Finance reports, as of November 1, 2008, the ten committees representing district attorneys in Massachusetts have contributed approximately $2,275 each to the Coalition along with a donation of $2,500 from the Worcester County Deputy Sheriffs Association as well as a few other donors for a total of approx $60,000, after expenditures they have $0 to fight the initiative and $2,601.92 in outstanding liabilities.


Controversies

On September 17, 2008, the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy filed complaints with the Office of Campaign and Political Finance and the Attorney General's office against the Massachusetts District Attorney Association, the 11 state district attorneys and O'Neill and Associates, a Boston public relations firm. Violations of the campaign finance law could result in up to 1 year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Also, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone has stated that in the event the majority of voters in the State of Massachusetts were to pass the initiative, he will attempt to override the vote and defeat it in an appellate process.


Alleged Complaints

* Under Massachusetts law, it is illegal to solicit, receive, or spend funds to support or oppose a ballot initiative without first forming a political committee. CSMP alleges that the district attorneys solicited, received, and spent donations before they were legally allowed to, attempting to conceal their campaign activity for as long as they could. * CSMP further alleges that the district attorneys used public funds to post and house a statement urging voters to reject the decriminalization initiative on its Web site, a violation of Massachusetts election law, which prohibits public officials from using public resources to advocate for or against a ballot initiative. The statement on the state run Massachusetts District Attorneys Association website says that if the question is approved, "any person may carry and use marijuana at any time," which is untrue.


Petition drive to qualify

The support group collected over 105,000 signatures, far exceeding the requirement of 66,593 valid signatures. Since Massachusetts is an indirect initiative state, this meant that the
Massachusetts State Legislature The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, ...
had to take up the proposed measure. Since the legislature declined to act on it by early May, the supporters then had until June 18, 2008, to collect another 11,099 signatures to ensure that the initiative is placed on the November 2008 statewide ballot, a goal at which they succeeded.''Massachusetts Law Updates:'' "Proposals to decriminalize marijuana," February 1, 2008
/ref>


Results


Enactment

As per Massachusetts law, the initiative became public law on January 2, 2009, 30 days from the date it was presented to the Governor's Council and certified.


See also

* Massachusetts 2008 ballot measures *
Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2008 The Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2008 was a bill in the United States House of Representatives introduced by Barney Frank ( D- MA) in the 110th congress on April 17, 2008 as . The bill had a total of 8 cosponsors. Its pa ...


References


External links


Committee for Sensible Marijuana PolicySensible Marijuana Policy Ballot LanguageAttorney General's Opinion 07-09Campaign finance registration statement of support committeeCommittee for Sensible Marijuana Policy Radio spotCommittee for Sensible Marijuana Policy Television spots
{{Cannabis in the United States 2008 Massachusetts ballot measures Sensible Marijuana Policy Initiative Cannabis law reform in the United States Drug control law in the United States Initiatives in the United States 2008 cannabis law reform