Police chiefs in towns like Auburn and Clinton, Massachusetts would undoubtedly deny that they have any interest in legalizing marijuana, but that's what they're about to effectively accomplish. Bent out of shape by the details of Question 2, the decriminalization measure that voters passed in November, those law-enforcement officials have announced that they won't bother issuing tickets to people caught smoking marijuana.
The new law, in effect since Friday, replaces criminal penalties with a $100 fine for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana. The text of the law also forbids any repercussions whatsoever, from denial of student loans to inclusion in a criminal record to consideration during applications for status as an adoptive parent.
But in what is likely a clever sleight of hand by legalization advocates, the law, by pulling arrest off the table as an option, deprives police officers of any means to compel people caught with marijuana to show identification. Anybody willing to say "Donald Duck" to a cop who nabs him with a joint and asks for a name can escape even the $100 fine.
And that's a good thing.
Marijuana is now not only de facto legal in a few Massachusetts communities because police find the requirements of decriminalization too demanding, it is now effectively sanction-free in the entire state for anybody willing to face down a cop.
The added benefit is that the state will not be collecting much revenue from those fines. Anything that denies resources to the government is a good thing.
Governments never had the right to tell consenting adults what they can and can't buy from and sell to each other, or put into their own bodies. We're not quite at the point where politicians are willing to concede that point. But we're getting closer when police simply throw up their hands and effectively allow people to exercise their rights unmolested.
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Comments
So when do they throw up their hands over another human right--the right to keeping and bearing the means of self-defense?
Good question. I've known some cops to do exactly that -- but I wouldn't bet money on it happening in a big way in Massachusetts.
To follow the logic of the pro abortion people, what I do in the privacy of my doctors office or home is no one else's business. I and I alone make decisions pertaining to my body. If it is good enough for them, it should be good enough fro me too.
I have to respectfully disagree that that amounts to "legalized" marijuana.
Alcohol is legalized and yet there are many regulations governing where and by whom it can be consumed.
If marijuana is now effectively free of all regulations in MA then it is not de facto legal, it is merely unregulated.
A better situation would be to license reputable businesses to produce and sell marijuana to adults in safe and attractive establishments. That would keep it out of the hands of minors and eliminate drug dealers in our communities.
This is great news, but "Anything that denies resources to the government is a good thing." is kind of idiotic.
one step closer, if only something like this would happen in texas...
Klogg-
The state cannot exist without coercion, which is immoral. Therefore, its very existence is immoral and unjust, thus denying it resources directly correlates to an increase in liberty among those it governs.
Of course, the notions of freedom and liberty are quaint notions these days.
Nice to know saner minds are working in MA.
You'd be interfering with an officer and be arrested if you said your name was "Donald Duck" If an officer asks you for id and you don't produce you can be locked up for 48 hours or till they figure out who you are and make sure you have no warrants. Someone go try this and see what happens, and if your black or Spanish forget it your done.. /fin
This makes me want to move to Boston. If a cop asked me my name, I'd give him a name other than my own and other than Donald Duck. They can't make you produce identification. Mostly though, I won't be toking outside in public. That's just like smoking a cigarette just outside the door of your workplace. Yea you're 'outside' but people still have to pass through it. It's morally wrong to force others to inhale your cigarette smoke, thusly it's also morally wrong to force someone else to inhale your cannabis smoke.
Anyway, read tinyurl.com/1mn and tinyurl.com/potconviction and you'll see that 'the war on (some) drugs' was only waged to replace the lost slave labor with prison labor. Stop arresting people for their possessions and start arresting them for their criminal actions.
"Decriminalization" and "legalization" are NOT the same thing, folks, and caution must be used when attempting to interchange the two terms. Be careful--there are still zealous District Attorneys out there that can prosecute for possession in areas where pot is "decriminalized".
There are many areas in the country where pot is effectively "decriminalized", but still not legal.
The ONLY Stae where Pot was actually legal (as in "legalized") for ohter than medical use was Alaska (and that was reversed). And, in States like California, where pot was legalized for medicinal use by the State, users still face Federal prosecution by zealous federal agents.
Sounds just like Canada. When I threatened my teen son after flushing his very meager stash, I told him I'd call the cops if there was a next time. He laughed at me and said, "pffft. You don't even get a ticket for that small an amount." Talk to the cops and they'll say "it's just pot. Doesn't cause much civil disobedience. Not as bad as alcohol and that's perfectly legal." (By the way, it never happened again and he's all grown up now.)
I would prefer my kids not get the message that pot is in no way dangerous. This sends exactly that message to kids.
Welcome to a new generation of slackers & dropouts.
heading in the right direction, finally. if alcohol is legal (after a certain age) the same should apply to weed considering it's less dangerous... it's just logical.
Cannedam you are a moron.
Cannedam, you are one ignorant fellow.
Pot is, in NO way, dangerous. Sure, operating vehicles or machinery while under the influence is probably a bad idea for most people (I find I drive a lot better when I am high. I am much more cautious and perceptive), but the only danger associated with the use of Marijuana would be the likely problems caused by the inhalation of the smoke. Smoking ANYTHING carries risk, and it would be foolish to say that there are no risks associated with the smoking of Marijuana, although there has never been a single case of Lung Cancer that has been determined to have been caused by smoking Marijuana.
So, yes, Marijuana is, indeed, safe.
YES! Finnally, a step in the right direction. I love this writer. Though you can not overdose on pot, you can on other things. All drugs should be controlled only by government~not the drug dealers. I would love to be conpletely free to decide what I ingest. Not for kids though. Being 18=21 is necessary.
The Feds aren't going for that...
No, this is not good.
It's good that it's getter freer to use cannabis (and homosexuality and catholickism and ...) but it's not up to the so-called police to decide what's legal and what's not. Laws should be made by a responsible, constitutioanl body and not a right-wing paramilitary organisation.
The fact that the so-called police form one of the highest de-facto law making bodies is another reason why policing needs to be fundamentally reformed.
Yeah i am very glad i moved out of you liberal city that i use to be proud of. I have never sense Veitnam have ever heard and read so much communist bull that runs out of your news papers. You love law breakers that come to live in your city and yet you put other people in jail for the same thing and i am talking about your love for the illegal invasion up there.
THANK GOD I DON"T LIVE THERE!!!! Yeah to bad i use the name of the God every one hates up there. you are a very sad city!!
Yeah Yeah! Boouy!! Movin' To Massachoosis'
Anyone who has smoked pot knows that it really is not as bad as the US wants us to think. Legalize it.Take back from the drug dealers, blaze one then sit back and relax.
Ever since one idiot in the 1920's said bad things about weed America has rode the idiocracy and for way to long.All I
can say is it's about damn time for some
common sense.Alcohol has ridden Americans for way to long.And a drunk driver killed my mother when I was 2 1/2
years old,I am 46 now and I say move over alcohol.
You liberal moron. "Anything that denies resources to the government is a good thing." Where do you think the money for your unemployment and welfare is coming from you idiot.
I hope the guy who ass-rapes your mom is willing to face down a cop and have nothing happen to him too.
Jennifer Tomae - I would pay anything to the government to see you unemployed and forced to live on welfare. Anything.
The people spoke and the officers must comply. In a democratic nation-state the police are responsible for upholding the laws of the people. In Canada the dream never became the reality and due to intense political pressure from the United States decriminalization never fully took hold. Police should however be able to identify those ticketed because how else could they do their jobs properly and issue fines.
To Jennifer Tomae.
I just wanted to point out that the opinions in the article are more libertarian than anything else. Also whats this about ass raping moms?
Billy: you are 1/2 right. The law is a little different in MA. You cannot be forced to identify yourself w/o an arrest (assuming your activity does not require ID ie. fishing, hunting, driving). If I were to say Donald Duck, then yes, on go the cuffs. EVERYONE knows who Donald Duck is. This would fall into some shiznit like hindering an investigation, or something or something. However, if I were to provide _your_ name, presuming you have no warrants...done deal. Of course arguing the law with a cop on the street corner will more than likely get you busted for disturbing the peace. At this point you can now be held without bail until proper identity is determined..really it is all just semantics, but the point of the article is that the ticket is $100, and it can quite easily be made into a pain in the butt for the PD to extract it. To further the point... why bother.. it's pot. The only people that ever really got busted for simple possession in MA were those too stupid to not bust the cops balls
Cannedam: YOU can learn a lot from your child! I am not saying that pot is without any burdens of responsibility. Soon as people can wrap their narrow warped minds around the fact that one can use pot without being STONED just like one can drink without being DRUNK, these the reformation of these laws will make more sense. Not to mention that EVERY law RE: marijuana has it's root in racism and capitalistic greed!
Jennifer Tomae: A few things to point out.. prosecution of M laws COSTS an obscene amount of money which could be devoted to unemployment and welfare. If it were legalized and treated like alcohol or tobacco, which by the way kids have a MUCH harder time getting a hold of, the tax revenue from that could also be used for unemployment and welfare as well. not to mention ALL its numerous other uses...wake up an smell the coffee,.... Why you may ask? BECAUSE ALL THE TEA IS IN THE HARBOR!
Yay! Another victory for Freedom! God bless the USA!
yeah. i dont no what cannedam is talkin about, he def. never smoked weed. in fact most who critize it never smoked it. its kinda line all the people who complain about gun saftey, but they have never shot a firearm, or those who complain that atv's are unsafe, once again they have never used one. dont critize it untill you do it. i've never heard of anyone smokin too much weed and ODing or driving like a fool (like you would when your drunk) in fact when i drive when i smoke i usually go 25 miles an hour and i am a better driver in fact in my opinion. oh yeahh, i use mickey mouse, not donald duck. its funny that there are alot of closet smokers who are famous and sucessful who smoke weed and the public wouldnt believe it if they found out (yeahh michael phelps, rasheed wallace, josh howard,woody harrelson, cameron diaz, justin timberlake, mariah carrey, Charlize Theron, and countless other celebs. wake up people and legalize it!
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