The Sensible Marijuana Policy Initiative, also known as Massachusetts Question 2, is an initiated state statute that would place civil instead of criminal penalties on adults possessing an ounce or less of marijuana. The initiative will appear on the November 4, 2008 ballot in Massachusetts.
Question 2, if it passes, will:
* Eliminate collection of Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) reports for minor infractions.
* Maintain current penalties for selling, growing, and trafficking marijuana, as well as the prohibition against driving under the influence of marijuana.
The law represents a break with current law in Massachusetts, where people charged with marijuana possession face criminal penalties of up to 6 months in jail and a $500 fine, and a CORI report is filed.
Supporters
The Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy is the leading proponent of the initiative. Whitney Taylor serves as the group's treasurer and chairwoman.
Billionaire and political activist George Soros has backed the measure, donating $400,000 to Taylor's group. According to campaign finance reports, about $315,000 of that was needed to get the more than 100,000 signatures needed to get on the ballot. "All of us owe George Soros a great deal of gratitude," said Keith Stroup, founder of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. A spokesman for Soros referred questions to Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the New York-based Drug Policy Alliance. Soros is a member of the board of directors of the Alliance. "He thinks the [ballot question] is a responsible initiative to reduce the over-reliance on criminal justice sanctions in dealing with marijuana," Nadelmann said. "Marijuana should not be a priority of the criminal justice system."
A Suffolk University / WHDH Channel 7 poll has shown that 72 percent of Greater Boston residents are in favor of replacing criminal penalties with civil fines for carrying an ounce or less of marijuana. "The public may be signaling that pursuing small-time marijuana users is a waste of taxpayer resources," said David Paleologos, director of the Political Research Bureau at Suffolk University. "This issue suggests there is a libertarian streak in the thinking of the Massachusetts voter." The poll was conducted with 400 residents between July 31 and August 3, 2008.
Arguments in favor
Supporting arguments advanced by the proponents include:
* It would save Massachusetts $130 million per year, according to a 2002 report by Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron.
* Instances of minor marijuana possession would no longer affect if people can obtain jobs, housing, and school loans.
* Currently there are about 2.8 million CORI records on file for a population of 6 million.
* Small convictions have been shown to have little or no impact on drug use.
Funding
Of the $429,000 that initiative supporters reported raising through the end of 2007, George Soros has made the largest contribution of $400,000.
Opposition
Michael O'Keefe, who is the president of the Massachusetts Attorneys Association, will be leading a campaign in opposition to the measure. He believes that it will lead to a increase in minors using the drug by sending the wrong message to them. O'Keefe donated $2,275 to a committee opposing the measure. The O'Keefe Committee is among the donors to the Coalition to Save Our Streets, a committee organized to oppose Question 2, which will appear on the ballot in the Nov. 4 general election. O'Keefe calls the ballot proposal "an insidious attempt to decriminalize drugs, starting with marijuana." O'Keefe said the state's district attorneys, police chiefs and sheriffs are united in opposing Question 2. They plan to launch a statewide campaign Sept. 17 to defeat the measure. "This is just a bad message to give to kids," O'Keefe said. "We're going to fight very hard to see it's defeated." The O'Keefe Committee is one of ten committees representing district attorneys in Massachusetts that have contributed to the coalition. According to records at the state Office of Campaign Finance, committees representing every district attorney except for Hampden County District Attorney William M. Bennett have contributed to the coalition. Most gave exactly or close to $2,275
William Breault, chairman of the Main South Alliance for Public Safety in Worcester, also plans to lead opposition against the measure.
Petition drive to qualify
The support group collected over 105,000 to meet the initial requirement of 66,593 valid signatures. Since Massachusetts is an indirect initiative state, this meant that the Massachusetts State Legislature had to take up the proposed measure. Since the legislature declined to act on it by early May, the supporter then had until June 18, 2008 to collect another 11,099 signatures to ensure that the initiative is placed on the November 2008 statewide ballot, a goal at which they succeeded, along with two other ballot propositions.
http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Massachusetts_Sensible_Marijuana_Policy_(2008)
Question 2, if it passes, will:
* Eliminate collection of Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) reports for minor infractions.
* Maintain current penalties for selling, growing, and trafficking marijuana, as well as the prohibition against driving under the influence of marijuana.
The law represents a break with current law in Massachusetts, where people charged with marijuana possession face criminal penalties of up to 6 months in jail and a $500 fine, and a CORI report is filed.
Supporters
The Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy is the leading proponent of the initiative. Whitney Taylor serves as the group's treasurer and chairwoman.
Billionaire and political activist George Soros has backed the measure, donating $400,000 to Taylor's group. According to campaign finance reports, about $315,000 of that was needed to get the more than 100,000 signatures needed to get on the ballot. "All of us owe George Soros a great deal of gratitude," said Keith Stroup, founder of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. A spokesman for Soros referred questions to Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the New York-based Drug Policy Alliance. Soros is a member of the board of directors of the Alliance. "He thinks the [ballot question] is a responsible initiative to reduce the over-reliance on criminal justice sanctions in dealing with marijuana," Nadelmann said. "Marijuana should not be a priority of the criminal justice system."
A Suffolk University / WHDH Channel 7 poll has shown that 72 percent of Greater Boston residents are in favor of replacing criminal penalties with civil fines for carrying an ounce or less of marijuana. "The public may be signaling that pursuing small-time marijuana users is a waste of taxpayer resources," said David Paleologos, director of the Political Research Bureau at Suffolk University. "This issue suggests there is a libertarian streak in the thinking of the Massachusetts voter." The poll was conducted with 400 residents between July 31 and August 3, 2008.
Arguments in favor
Supporting arguments advanced by the proponents include:
* It would save Massachusetts $130 million per year, according to a 2002 report by Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron.
* Instances of minor marijuana possession would no longer affect if people can obtain jobs, housing, and school loans.
* Currently there are about 2.8 million CORI records on file for a population of 6 million.
* Small convictions have been shown to have little or no impact on drug use.
Funding
Of the $429,000 that initiative supporters reported raising through the end of 2007, George Soros has made the largest contribution of $400,000.
Opposition
Michael O'Keefe, who is the president of the Massachusetts Attorneys Association, will be leading a campaign in opposition to the measure. He believes that it will lead to a increase in minors using the drug by sending the wrong message to them. O'Keefe donated $2,275 to a committee opposing the measure. The O'Keefe Committee is among the donors to the Coalition to Save Our Streets, a committee organized to oppose Question 2, which will appear on the ballot in the Nov. 4 general election. O'Keefe calls the ballot proposal "an insidious attempt to decriminalize drugs, starting with marijuana." O'Keefe said the state's district attorneys, police chiefs and sheriffs are united in opposing Question 2. They plan to launch a statewide campaign Sept. 17 to defeat the measure. "This is just a bad message to give to kids," O'Keefe said. "We're going to fight very hard to see it's defeated." The O'Keefe Committee is one of ten committees representing district attorneys in Massachusetts that have contributed to the coalition. According to records at the state Office of Campaign Finance, committees representing every district attorney except for Hampden County District Attorney William M. Bennett have contributed to the coalition. Most gave exactly or close to $2,275
William Breault, chairman of the Main South Alliance for Public Safety in Worcester, also plans to lead opposition against the measure.
Petition drive to qualify
The support group collected over 105,000 to meet the initial requirement of 66,593 valid signatures. Since Massachusetts is an indirect initiative state, this meant that the Massachusetts State Legislature had to take up the proposed measure. Since the legislature declined to act on it by early May, the supporter then had until June 18, 2008 to collect another 11,099 signatures to ensure that the initiative is placed on the November 2008 statewide ballot, a goal at which they succeeded, along with two other ballot propositions.
http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Massachusetts_Sensible_Marijuana_Policy_(2008)
