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Drug laws need revision
2/7/08|Daily Free Press| by Meghan Schultz

Last month, activist groups led by the Coalition for Sensible Marijuana Policy launched a campaign to reduce the penalties for the possession of marijuana for personal use in Massachusetts. According to current state law, possession of any amount of marijuana carries the risk of incarceration, heavy fines, a criminal record and legal fees. Those convicted of marijuana possession can lose student financial aid, public housing, unemployment benefits, the right to operate a motor vehicle and the opportunity to serve as a foster or adoptive parent. The proposed law would classify marijuana possession as a civil offense, punishable by citation, fine and forfeiture of the weed.

It's about time. In poll after poll, the people of Massachusetts have demonstrated they are dissatisfied with the way the state responds to its citizens' cannabis use -- and they should be. The penalties levied for cannabis use are draconian, outdated and counterproductive. It is common knowledge that cannabis smoking is about as damaging to human health as cigarette smoking -- which the state allows. Unlike tobacco use, however, cannabis carries no risk of addiction, and it is impossible to consume enough to overdose on it. Smoking weed simply does not constitute a public health threat. Continuing to label its responsible use by adults "criminal" is preposterous, and -- considering the more concrete damage rendered by legal substances -- outright hypocritical.

Prohibition has never been an effective method of controlling widespread substance use. Every culture in the world has used mind-altering substances (with the sole exception of tribes in the extreme climate of northern Canada and Alaska who could not extensively cultivate anything, let alone drugs), and Massachusetts in 2008 is no exception -- prohibition has failed here. Cannabis use is commonplace. Trying to stop a population from indulging in one of its favorite substances is doomed to failure. And so what? The fabric of society has not yet crumbled from cannabis use, despite consistently high rates of usage. The majority of marijuana users are responsible and reasonable about their consumption -- they enjoy their herb the way many enjoy their wine and cocktails -- or, for that matter, their caffeine, nicotine and sugar.

The only reasonable response to a substance with such a wide appeal is regulation. By treating cannabis as a dangerous pariah, our laws have forced it into a black market, making it easily accessible to underage users, eliminating any possibility of quality control, denying local governments revenue from this cash crop and funding large-scale organized crime in this country and internationally. Passage of the proposed bill would be a step in the direction of regulation, which would put an end to the free-for-all black market system that is institutionalized by current laws.

The current legal status of cannabis erodes the rights of otherwise law-abiding people while the public derives no perceptible benefit. Other legislation and social conventions exist to protect the public from the negative effects of substance abuse: DUI laws, the right of employers to fire employees who perform poorly, public consumption bans, trafficking regulations and age restrictions, for example. The substantial criminal penalties for simple possession are excessive. Denying access to public resources like financial aid and public housing to those who are caught with marijuana is senseless. Such penalties make it more difficult for people to function as productive members of society, especially in cases of students denied government financial aid for mere possession. Denying people access to education, housing and unemployment benefits does not deter potential pot smokers, but simply marginalizes those who already smoke.

The legislation proposed by the coalition would replace criminal penalties for possession of small quantities of cannabis with civil ones. Penalties would be stiffer for those under 18 and would include community service and substance abuse education. Reducing the severity of punishment to the caliber of an expensive parking ticket would ease the negative repercussions that society experiences when its laws interfere with the careers, family lives, transportation and education of otherwise law-abiding people.

It is time for our laws to correspond to our cultural practices. Human beings like to use mind-altering substances, and they do so. They did so when a misguided Congress passed the 18th Amendment banning alcohol, did so when the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act effectively banned cannabis use and they continue to do so now. Criminal punishment for an act that the people of Massachusetts do not think ought to be considered criminal at all is undemocratic. All Massachusetts residents, regardless of whether we choose to use marijuana, should support CSMP's initiative to decriminalize small quantities for personal use. Any person who values his or her rights should be outraged at marijuana prohibition's victimization of citizens who have done nothing to harm or disturb others. This so-called War on Drugs has gone on too long and made mockeries of too many of our rights. This year we have the opportunity to vote some sense back into drug policy. It is our responsibility to take it.