The Echo Chamber Blog

If you’re like me and marijuana law reform is an important political issue to you, then this year’s presidential election is basically a wash.  Conservatives like McCain-Palin will never take steps to decriminalize or, at the very least, ease the archaic federal marijuana laws.  While, on the other hand, Barack Obama, who seems like a very reasonable man that would listen to common sense on any issue, dashed most hopes for federal decriminalization in the next 4-8 years when he named career drug-warrior Joe Biden as his running mate.  As the head of the Senate Judiciary Committee in the 1980′s, Biden had a huge hand in creating the ridiculous laws that we know today as the “war on drugs.”  It seems clearer than ever that this is a battle that can only be won on the state level.  On November 4th Massachusetts will look to become the twelfth state to basically decriminalize the simple possession of marijuana for personal use with ballot question 2.  To clarify, vote YES for decriminalization.  Statistics in the previous eleven states show how marijuana use didn’t increase whatsoever upon decriminalization: the only change was that thousands of citizen’s lives were no longer ruined by criminal records and loss of financial aid or public housing.  Still, the usual suspects have come out in full-force to oppose this measure.  Leading the charge are the state and local police and, of course, the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association.  What would these officers and prosecutors do with their days if they could no longer arrest and prosecute thousands of otherwise law-abiding citizens for simple marijuana possession?  Like all prohibitionists, these cops and DAs have a vested interest in keeping marijuana illegal.  They don’t care that decriminalization would save the state millions of dollars, all they care about is their jobs.  Also, marijuana is a great excuse to search people without any real probable cause.  These law enforcement officials simply can’t imagine a world in which they can no longer say, “Well, Your Honor, we detected a strong odor of marijuana so we proceeded to search the vehicle/person/residence.”  You see, marijuana’s illegal status provides cops with a free pass to completely ignore the fourth amendment.

If you want to see some good old-fashioned propaganda and 1930′s-style hysteria, take a look at their website.  Here they cite the murder of a Massachusetts 18 year old over 3/4 lb of marijuana and inexplicably blame this brutal crime on the plant itself—while any reader with common sense can see that it’s marijuana’s illegal status that leads to despicable crimes like this.  Marijuana doesn’t lead to violent crime, marijuana laws do.  I doubt anyone has ever been murdered for a few cases of booze, at least not since the 1930′s (remember prohibition? It still doesn’t work).  And here the opponents of question 2 point out the problem of Mexican drug cartels setting up shop on American soil.  Hmm, violent criminals taking advantage of an unregulated black market? That sounds awfully familiar (again, remember alcohol prohibition?).  And of course, they resort to the tried and true “what about the children?” argument, ignoring the fact that, if question 2 is passed, this measure would actually INCREASE the penalties for kids under 18 by notifying their parents and forcing them to attend drug counseling.  Prohibitionists like to disregard the facts proving marijuana’s relative harmlessness by saying, “decriminalization sends the wrong message to children.”  When in actuality it’s the current laws, which put marijuana in the same category as dangerous drugs like cocaine and heroin, that mislead youths.  Decriminalization advocates don’t want to expose children to marijuana; we simply want it to be treated like alcohol and tobacco—legal for ADULTS ONLY.

Question 2 is not about legalizing drugs.  It would merely mean that simple possession of less than an ounce of marijuana by an adult would result in confiscation and a $100 fine (like a speeding ticket), as opposed to arrest and prosecution.  This measure is about sparing responsible citizens from probation, jail time, and, most importantly, the life-long stigma of being a “drug offender.”  So if you’re a Massachusetts resident, please vote YES on Question 2 and urge your fellow constituents to do the same.  Pot smokers are not criminals.  They’re your neighbors, co-workers, friends, family members and, in all my experiences, responsible and peaceful citizens.  While I’ve always considered myself a proud Rhode Islander, if and when this measure is voted into law, I may just have to relocate about 15 miles North where I can somewhat live a life of freedom and happiness…..as soon as I’m allowed to leave the state.