Massachusetts marijuana vote has cops in a tizzy

November 7, 1:32 PMCivil Liberties ExaminerJ.D. Tuccille

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Possession of less than an ounce of marijuana
now draws only a $100 fine in Massachusetts

I'm not sure that law enforcement officials in the Bay State really anticipated that Question 2 was actually going to pass, reducing penalties for simple possession of less than an ounce of marijuana to a $100 fine.

From the Boston Globe:

"This is certainly going to make the work of many police officers a lot more complicated," said Wayne Sampson, executive director of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association. "We're going to need guidance from the attorney general and district attorneys. There are a lot of things to work out."

Well, yes, I suppose so. But decriminalization didn't come out of the blue. The measure was much-anticipated and heavily debated. It ultimately passed with the support of almost two-thirds of voters. A little just-in-case prep work may have been in order.

Instead, we're getting a bit of a frenzy of ... whining. Chief Brian Kyes of the Chelsea Police Department drags his feet with what sounds like an Intro to Police Procedure question. "If it's a civil infraction, not a crime, can police officers search for more evidence? Now that might constitute a bad search, and that definitely will require significant changes."

Well, yes, it might. But there are actually a few items in Massachusetts, possession of which is punishable only by fines, despite the best efforts of the state legislature. If I remember right, pocket knives with blades longer than 2.5 inches fall into this category in Boston. So deciding whether or not a search is permissible after discovery of a decriminalized substance should be a more or less settled matter of law.

And Frank Pasquerello, a spokesman for the Cambridge Police Department, complains, "Now, we're going to have to figure out how much they had, not whether they were carrying it, and that's a lot more difficult."

Well, I sympathize. It would have been better if marijuana were fully legalized, but there you have it. We all have our crosses to bear.

Of course, all institutions are inherently conservative. They don't like to change their ways, and they don't like to approach old challenges from a new direction.

But, in time, I'm sure that Massachusetts police officers can learn to get along without hustling casual pot smokers off to jail.

Contact J.D.: civilliberties (at) tuccille.com

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