2008 Massachusetts Decriminalizes Marijuana
posted by on November 5 at 11:51 AM
By 65 to 35 percent, voters in Massachusetts just decriminalized up to an ounce of pot. A crime punishable by arrest, court, jail, and butt poking is now a $100 citation. It’s like a parking ticket.
This could have an impact in Washington very soon. For years, the funders and nonprofits that supported this sort of thing were reluctant to run a decriminalization measure here. They feared that high-credibility opponents—cops, prosecutors, and tough-on-crime Democrats—would use baseless fear mongering to crush the measure. That is, in fact, what they tried to do in Massachusetts:
The opponents, who include the governor, attorney general, and district attorneys around the state, argued that decriminalizing marijuana possession would promote drug use and benefit drug dealers at a time when they say marijuana has become more potent. They warned it would increase violence on the streets and safety hazards in the workplace, and cause the number of car crashes to rise as more youths drive under the influence.
So how did that tactic work? It apparently backfired. Polling two weeks ago showed Question two leading by 19 points, but—after the opposition ramped up its campaign—it passed by a 30-point margin. Police speaking out against pot-law reform doesn’t have traction with voters that we thought. We can’t be sure why, exactly, but perhaps cops screaming about needing to bust stoners to protect public safety comes off as a self-serving ploy to retain power.
This could set off a chain-reaction of similar initiatives in other states. “I don’t think we can say that Washington voters should be thought of as the same as Massachusetts voters,” says Alison Holcomb, director of the ACLU of Washington’s drug policy project. “However, our conversations with Washington residents have shown us that they have given the same careful and considered thought to this issue.” She adds that there have been conversations about running an initiative here. “But it also possible that our elected officials may want to take the initiative in this area.”
Every time people start talking about loosening pot laws, opponents make the same claims: that it will increase pot smoking and send the wrong message to kids. (Some states decriminalized marijuana in the 1970s, but most of them still punish people with huge fines and some still require court appearances. Those states, however, aren’t “sending a message” because there’s been no public hubbub over the issue.) Well, to gauge the impact of the loud and clear message in Massachussetts, let’s watch what heppens there in the next year. If there’s no increase in pot smoking, violence in the streets, and kids don’t get “the wrong message,” those arguments from the drug czar and law enforcement are refuted. The U.S. will have a domestic model to prove that pot can be decriminalized without any ramifications. That’s the hard evidence that will make it easier to pass a similar elsewhere. So I predict that by 2010, funders and nonprofits will run decrim in another state. Rumor has it that Washington is next on the list.
Thanks for getting that done here in Seattle, Dominic et al.
And PS, because you never flaunt it, I'd like to point out that your street-cred is off the charts dude.
y'all do realize ...
that if Washington started selling marijuana in state-run liquor stores ... it would really help fight our impending budget crisis and would cut a lot of crime from the city ... never mind allow the police to fight real problems like gang violence, et al
y'all realize ...
if Washington State started selling Marijuana in State Liquor Stores ... that would go a long way towards helping with our impending deficit never mind allowing the police to target real problems like gang violence et al
i think you answered your own question on the cops claims about violence in the street. people have wizened up to these suggestions. people no longer trust the police as they once did. hence their claims are met with more scrutiny. i believe because of the war on drugs police credibility is almost completely shot. this is a health issue not a criminal issue. the $100 fine should be considered a tax. oddly voters supported state income tax. a tax and regulated marijuana marketplace would eliminate state income tax needs.
I have two thoughts on why the scare tactics backfired, and they sadly don't include "The public got smarter":
1) The local police have lost a lot of credibility lately. To make a long story long, our governor recently said that cops won't get expensive paid details at construction sites anymore, and that we'd have to use lower-paid flaggers like every other state. The police went on the airwaves to rant about how old people will be mowed down at intersections and children, think of the children! They even interfered with some construction sites that were trying to use flaggers.
The upshot was that the cops were seen as being a bunch of scare-mongering, self-serving liars. They lost a lot of credibility. I think that spilled over into the pot discussion, because (to my ears) the pot scare-mongerers sounded just like the paid-detail scare-mongerers.
2) I also think that in bad economic times people want to get stoned.
Hope this clears things up. Just one person's opinion from MA.
The proper way to celebrate this election is to bake some brownies.
As a gay Massachusetts resident, let me just say it's good to live here. Let me also say it just got even better (and any hot Cali guys looking for husbands don't be afraid to come on over and bring some of that good Humboldt product with you).
I will say I'm sad my two ideas for the Marijuana decriminalization ballot measure lawn signs never took off:
1) Keep off my grass, vote yes on question 2.
2) Yes Weed Can!
That's all.
Hopefully by providing a high-profile example of how the foretold disasters do not occur with decriminalization it will make it easier to pass laws like this elsewhere. The price tag for savings on imprisonment will also provide a nice advertisement.
I don't think a majority of Americans are afraid of marijuana like they once were. The scare tactics just seem comical to everybody under sixty.
As a gay Massachusetts resident, let me just say it's good to live here. Let me also say it just got even better (and any hot Cali guys looking for husbands don't be afraid to come on over and bring some of that good Humboldt product with you).
I will say I'm sad my two ideas for the Marijuana decriminalization ballot measure lawn signs never took off:
1) Keep off my grass, vote yes on question 2.
2) Yes Weed Can!
That's all.
"Yes Weed Can!"
alsome, I love it.
I'm not sure why this is such a big deal. I grew up in Ohio and there possession of less than 100 grams results in a $100 ticket with no criminal record. There are other states that have similar laws.
@2 for the insightful and economically positive viewpoint.
Remember, demon rum used to be banned too. Now it's a cash crop for the state.
Michigan passed medical marijuana! Baby steps!
And stem cell research :D
@ 11) This is a big deal because it was done by a public vote--not by the legislature--after the modern drug war was established. It proves that voters are immune to cops blocking pot reform. The fact that the opposition campaign seemed to boost the margin of victory gives a green light to decriminalize pot, eliminating fines entirely, around the country.
"decriminalizing" posession of small amounts while keeping production & sale illegal is retarded. it's still not legal to posess. you get a ticket.
decriminalized pot? liberal president? light rail for seattle? god I love today
Michigan passed medical marijuana! Baby steps!
And stem cell research :D
Things are lookin up.
YesWeedCan :)
Nothin' should change in Massachusetts... Smoking cannabis has been going on before this law, and will go on after.... of course.... It's a shame that marijuana is not decriminalized by our federal govt. As a business owner, I would MUCH rather hire a bunch of "potheads" as they have been tagged, then alcoholics BY FAR!!!!!!!!! People who enjoy smokin' some weed can still make it to work the next day, Unlike drunks who come in hungover and not able to use they're basic motor skills properly because of the night before.....
Psalm 104:14 states that we herb is on this planet fot the causeth of man anyways... I should be allowed to obligate myself to the mandates of my established religion...
Nothin' should change in Massachusetts... Smoking cannabis has been going on before this law, and will go on after.... of course.... It's a shame that marijuana is not decriminalized by our federal govt. As a business owner, I would MUCH rather hire a bunch of "potheads" as they have been tagged, then alcoholics BY FAR!!!!!!!!! People who enjoy smokin' some weed can still make it to work the next day, Unlike drunks who come in hungover and not able to use they're basic motor skills properly because of the night before.....
Psalm 104:14 states that we herb is on this planet fot the causeth of man anyways... I should be allowed to obligate myself to the mandates of my established religion...
I will smoke weed in celebration when it becomes legal, sometime around my retirement.
cool, with the tightning drug laws and law and order atmosphere here in the netherlands in a few years we will be able to send our politicians over to learn from th liberal amarican drug laws.
its bonkers but it might be true.....
by the way, thanks for ellecting the way lesser of the evils.