Mass.: Support keeping marijuana decrim intact

Published: September 21, 2011

Back in 2008, an MPP-backed campaign advocated in support of, and eventually passed, a ballot measure that replaced the old criminal penalty for possession of up to an ounce of marijuana with a more sensible civil violation. The 65% of Massachusetts’s voters who supported marijuana decriminalization knew what has since proven true: there haven’t been negative consequences to social health or safety tied to the reform.

Unfortunately, Massachusetts’s voters appear to be ahead of some of their elected officials. Rep. Todd Smola (R – Palmer) introduced a bill – HB 507 – that would, among other things, recriminalize marijuana possession in a school or park zone. His proposed penalty for possessing a controlled substance – including marijuana – within 1,000 feet of a school or 100 feet of a park would be at least two and a half, and up to 15, years in prison! Please email your senator and representative and ask them to oppose this draconian and anti-democratic measure.

The Joint Judiciary Committee recently took testimony on this unconscionable roll back of the will of the people. Make sure your elected officials know that Massachusetts’s voters support sensible marijuana policy, not heavy-handed sentences.