Medical marijuana bill has committee
hearing; initiative proposed
On
June 28, 2011, the Joint Public Health Committee of the Massachusetts Legislature
met to take testimony on medical marijuana legislation. HB 625/SB
1161 – introduced by Rep. Frank Smizik and Senate President Pro Tem
Stanley Rosenberg – would protect sick Bay Staters from arrest and prosecution
for using medical marijuana if their doctors recommend it. Both bills are very
similar to the legislation that stalled in committee last session. Please
email your legislators and ask them to support medical marijuana legislation.
To
find out more about the proposed medical marijuana law, be sure to check out the Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance site.
In the event the legislature stalls the medical marijuana bill again this
session, the voters might be given the chance to weigh in directly. An
organization called the Committee
for Compassionate Medicine has filed a ballot initiative that, if qualified and
passed by voters, would create a voter approved medical marijuana program. The
question would appear on the general election ballot in November of
2012.
Finally,
if you are a patient with a serious medical condition who could benefit from
medical marijuana, a loved one, a medical professional, or a member of law
enforcement or the clergy who might be interested in speaking out, please contact the Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance to see how you can be ofspecial help in passing this legislation.
In addition to medical marijuana legislation, Rep. Ellen Story has introduced a
bill that would tax and regulate the marijuana market in Massachusetts. HB
1371 would strip power and money from illegal marijuana syndicates by
allowing legitimate businesses to produce and sell marijuana to adults over 21.
Breaking the connection between marijuana and the criminal underworld would keep
Massachusetts’ children safer and allow the state to realize taxes on a
currently unregulated market worth millions.
High court rules the odor of burnt marijuana is not
enough to justify an exit order
In
April 2011, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the odor of marijuana
emanating from a parked vehicle is not sufficient cause for further police
investigation. By a 5-1 vote, the state's highest court ruled that police
officers lacked the authority to order suspects out of a parked passenger
vehicle based on the odor of pot. The court concluded that Boston police
officers had no evidence that the suspects possessed a criminal amount of
marijuana and that the police were wrong to pursue "decriminalized conduct
with the same fervor associated with the pursuit of serious criminal
conduct."
You
may recall back in 2008, MPP lead an effort to decriminalize possession of up
to an ounce of marijuana. Question 2 replaced the criminal penalty associated
with minor possession with a civil violation of $100. The court ruling above is
a direct result of passage of Question 2. In addition, MPP congratulates our
allies at the ACLU, who litigated the case.
Marijuana possession citation law working well,
despite continued attempts to weaken it
On
November 4, 2008, Massachusetts became the first state to remove the
possibility of jail time for simple marijuana possession by voter initiative.
MPP’s campaign committee spearheaded this effort. Under the new law, possession
of an ounce or less of marijuana is a civil infraction punishable only by a
$100 fine and forfeiture of the marijuana.
During
the 2009-2010 legislative session, despite the fact that the new law was
overwhelmingly approved with 65% of the vote, several bills were introduced
that sought to undermine Massachusetts' new marijuana possession law or
otherwise increase the penalties associated with marijuana. Most of these bills
were heard before the Joint Committee on the Judiciary in July 2009, but
fortunately, none of them passed.
Unfortunately,
Rep. Todd Smola has introduced two bills to increase marijuana possession
penalties. One
would further punish an individual in possession of marijuana while in a school
zone, and the other would
increase the penalty associated with possession of marijuana while in operation
of a motor vehicle. Please
sign up for our free email alerts to stay up-to-date on any hearings or
votes scheduled for these misguided bills.
Marijuana Laws in Massachusetts
Although
possession of under an ounce of marijuana is punishable by a civil fine of $100
in Massachusetts, the prohibition of marijuana has plenty of opportunity costs.
Time spent enforcing marijuana laws could better be used to investigate and
bring to justice perpetrators of violent crime. The clearance rate for murder
in Massachusetts is 53.9%; for rape and burglary, the clearance rates are 27.8%
and 23.8%, respectively. Please
email your legislators and ask them to consider a more sensible alternative.
For more information on marijuana laws in Massachusetts, please see an in-depth report
by Jon Gettman, PhD, about the current marijuana laws and policies in
Massachusetts.
Stay
connected
To
stay updated on the status of marijuana policy reform in Massachusetts, be sure
to subscribe to MPP's free
legislative alert service.
