Despite passage of question 2 last November by 65% of voters, and majority approval in 349 of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts, as of May 16 forty-one municipalities have enacted add-on fines of up to $300.

The statewide penalty is a civil fine of $100 for possession of less than one ounce of marijuana or THC.  The total penalty assessed will vary by location of the offense.  In Quincy the fine is still $100, but cross the town line into Braintree and the penalty jumps to $400 total.

The add-on penalties are for public use ofmarijuana.  A full accounting of marijuana offenses under decriminalization cannot be compiled until Spring 2010.  There is no indication that public use of marijuana increased after decriminalization was approved.  These measures are the product of a personal campaign waged by Attorney General Martha Coakley.  Despite the 2:1 support (a greater margin than she received to win the AG seat) she took the time to draft a sample bylaw that was sent to local police chiefs.  The police chiefs were instructed to bring the bylaw to the City Council or Board of Selectment, to be voted on either by a tiny minority or introduce to the Town Meeting, which is populated by elder voters--the one demographic block that did not support decriminalization.

This is a classic end-around and shows an utter disreagrd for the will of the people or a good-faith grace period to examine the pure effects of decriminalization.  This is a solution in search of a problem, that does not exist, and never has.

Confirmed Freedom Rally 2009 Speakers include:

Keith Stroup, NORML Founder

Rick Cusick, High Times Magazine Associate Publisher

Georgine DiMaria, former Miss New Jersey USA

Steve Bloom, celebstoner.com

Bobby Black, High Times Columnist

Phil Greazzo, NHORML

Chris Goldstein, founder NORML Audio Stash

Jon Napoli, owner of The Hempest

Danny Danko, High Times Cultivation Editor

Steve Epstein, MassCann Treasurer/Clerk

Keith Saunders, MassCann President

SourStraw DieselBerry Cough

Sour Diesel x Strawberry Cough
First Strain from Seed: July 2008
Massachusetts Grown
$500/oz.
A lot of headiness for a strong indica pedigree, accompanied by a loose bodily high.  Strong, sour scent of THC.  Smokes very smooth, with the telltale strawberry aftertaste.  The high price tag is actually more economical than it looks; one-third to one-half gram per dose is plenty.

..


"The data provide no evidence that strict cannabis laws ... provide protective effects"

Bethesda, MD: The
enforcement of strict anti-cannabis laws is not associated with a
reduction in the prevalence of adolescent marijuana use, according to
international survey data to be published in the International Journal of Drug Policy.

Investigators
from the United States, Canada, and the Netherlands reviewed the
self-reported use of marijuana and alcohol among nearly 5,000 10th
graders in all three nations. Researchers reported that youth cannabis
rates "did not differ across countries" despite widely disparate legal
policies.

In the United States, 33 percent of 10th grade boys and 26 percent
of 10th grade girls reported using cannabis during the past year. In
Canada, where marijuana is similarly prohibited but anti-pot laws are
seldomly enforced, 32 percent of boys and 31 percent
of girls said they'd used marijuana in the previous year. And in the
Netherlands, where the sale of cannabis is legally regulated for those
over 18 years of age, 29 percent of 10th grade boy and just 20 percent of girls said that they had used pot in the past year.

"Surprisingly,
there was little evidence of correspondence between cannabis prevalence
and policy," authors determined. "These data are consistent with
reports showing that [the] use of cannabis is no higher in the
Netherlands than in the United States, and inconsistent with the demand
theory idea that strict laws and enforcement prevent adolescent
cannabis use. More importantly, the data are inconsistent with the
contention that decriminalization policies encourage adolescent
cannabis use."

Investigator
concluded: "The data provide no evidence that strict cannabis laws in
the United States provide protective effects compared to similarly
restrictive but less vigorously enforced laws in place in Canada, and
the regulated access approach in the Netherlands. Given the
cross-sectional nature of the research, the data provide no evidence of
a causal association between national policies and substance use."

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org.
Full text of the study, "Cross-national comparison of adolescent
drinking and cannabis use in the United States, Canada, and the
Netherlands," will appear in the International Journal of Drug Policy.

In the running:

Sour-Straw DieselBerry Cough
Island Breeze
Super Skunk
Grape Ape
Unicorn Crack
Boston Strangler
Orange Crush
N.L.#5
Jack Herer x Wonderbud


Your nominees? 

Rules:  Smoked or otherwise ingested it since 4/20/08.  Available to more than 4 people. Able to describe the effects in a coherent and informative manner.

What's the best bud you've had since last year at 4/20?

The Springfield City Council approved an ordinance that imposes escalating fines for simple marijuana possession, in addition to the state-level $100 fine.

Thing is, the decriminalization law does not allow the state to keep records of who committed violations, once they are settled.

In other words, there is no way the Springfield Police can know if it is the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 50th cited violation of marijuana possession by any given person, so they cannot legally assess the escalated fines.  If they do, they violate the decriminalization law that was passed by 65% of voters in 2008.

---

I
was reading the recent editorial on Question 2 and the move to create a
new class of public consumption fines for marijuana use.
I fully agree with The Ledger: marijuana continues to be illegal.
However, public consumption fines are typically used for regulating
substances that are legal. It is ludicrous to fine people for publicly
using a substance that is already illegal. By its nature, prohibited
public use is already part and parcel of its illegality.
This is not established precedent for dealing with illegal substances.
Read the arrest section of any newspaper. How many arrests are listed for public consumption of illegal substances?
The political opponents of Question 2 are trying to carve out a new
precedent for attacking marijuana users in the wake of their enormous
and embarrassing loss.
Barely has the ink dried on the new police ticket booklets, and we
now have a proposal to target people with a cumulative fine of $700,
rather than the $100 fine for which residents just voted.
Was public marijuana smoking a big problem in 2008? Has it become a problem in 2009?
I never saw any public statement by local police or articles in The Ledger during this time to that effect.
What can a neutral observer conclude when the leader of the fight
against Question 2, Attorney General Martha Coakley, wastes no time in
encouraging communities to quadruple the fine.
Can it be said that she was responding to an existing problem, or was it rather a vengeful swipe at the will of the voters?
Is there a message that was missed?
Should we put it on the local ballot again in 2010?
This $100 is the same amount as the fine for public alcohol consumption.
Is there a current problem with that fine not being high enough and effective?
I don’t recall a public outcry to increase that fine.
The Ledger points out that creating public consumption fines is legal.
Sure. Banning winter sledding and Trick or Treat would be legal, too, but nasty and vindictive.
It is clearly an end-run around the spirit of the newly voted-in law.

They are trying to mess with the 65%!!!!

STAND YOUR GROUND!  Call them before 3:00 p.m. today and tell them that the People Picked the Proper Punishment, and there is no need to modify what is not broken.

INFO:

Click
here: Marijuana law on Springfield agenda - MassLive.com

 

SPRINGFIELD:  The council Veterans, Administration and Human Services
Committee will discuss the new state marijuana law at 3 p.m. today at City Hall,
36 Court Street, Springfield, MA, in Room 200.
Phone: 413.787.6000

Veterans Administration & Human Services
James
Ferrera*
33 Palmyra Street, 01118
Home:  351-6657
Email:
jferrera1@verizon. net
Bud
L. Williams
71 Joanne Road, 01119
Home:  783-9592
Timothy
J. Rooke
50 Overlook Drive, 01118
Home:  747-1825

Complete City Council
http://www.springfi eldcityhall. com/COS/council. 0.html