Mass.: Bills seeking to undermine Question 2 set for hearing

Published: July 8, 2009

We recently sent you an alert informing you that several bills seeking to undermine Massachusetts' new marijuana possession law had been introduced in the state legislature. Some of these bills have now been scheduled for a hearing before the Joint Committee on the Judiciary this coming Tuesday, July 14.

Please send your lawmakers an e-mail today asking them to oppose all attempts to increase the penalties associated with marijuana. After you have e-mailed, follow up with a call.

We've also created a flyer that you can print out and mail directly to your state legislators. After determining who your state representative and senator are, please print and mail this flyer to each of them. We encourage you to add a short note on the back saying, "Will you please help defeat these bills?" with your name, address, and phone number.

This meeting is open to the public and we encourage you to attend. If you decide to take part, please remember to dress professionally and treat everyone involved in the process with respect.

If all of these bills were to pass, the areas in Massachusetts where possessing an ounce or less of marijuana could only result in a $100 fine would be reduced to almost nothing. This is most certainly not the situation envisioned by 65% of the voters when they approved Question 2 last November, so please take a few minutes to let you legislators know that if they don't support the will of the voters then you won't be supporting them.

Thank you for supporting sensible marijuana policy reform in Massachusetts. Please forward this alert to other Bay Staters so they too can take action.