Reefer Madness is Not Extending into Belmont
Cassie Norton, Staff Writer
June 9, 2009
Belmont Citizen-Herald (Lexington, MA)
Belmont, Mass. — Though a state-wide ballot question decriminalized marijuana possession under one ounce last year, the enforcement of the voters' mandate left some questions for town and city officials.
In the six months since the mandate went into effect on Jan. 2, the officers of the Belmont Police Department have worked out enforcement issues and adapted to the new system.
"There is slightly less paperwork involved, though officers still have to write the citation and a report," said Lt. Rick Santangelo, spokesman for the police department. "It does somewhat reduce the hours [involved in enforcement] because they don’t have to go to court" right off the bat.
If a person is cited for possession of marijuana under one ounce, the fine is $100 and goes to the town, Santangelo said. If the person fails to pay the fine, they will be summonsed to court, "and at some point in that process an officer may have to appear" in court.
If the person cited is a juvenile and fails to pay the fine, the parents or guardians are notified and the youth must attend a drug awareness program. If they fail to comply, the fine may increase up to $1,000, which may be assessed to the parents.
Since the beginning of this year, there have been two arrests and/or summons for possession of marijuana, according to Santangelo. There have been nine citations issued.
Last year, there were 35 marijuana-related arrests, though those charges could include possession with intent to distribute or a series of charges, one of which was possession, Santangelo said, making a direct comparison difficult.
The funds from citations join with other fine payments in the miscellaneous revenue account, Town Administrator Tom Younger said, and from there are included in the rest of the town's revenues.
Even before Question 2 was approved by 65 percent of the voters state-wide, and 67 percent in Belmont, Attorney General Martha Coakley proposed a model bylaw that recommended a $300 fine and a criminal application procedure to collect it for public consumption of marijuana.
Younger said he has not been asked to consider Coakley's proposal, before or after the ballot question passed.
Massachusetts was the 12th state to decriminalize the use of marijuana, and the first to do so through a ballot question, rather than through the courts or legislation. | 
