TheSensible Marijuana Policy Initiative, also known asMassachusetts Ballot Question 2, was an initiated state statute that replaced priorcriminal penalties with newcivil penalties on adults possessing an ounce or less ofmarijuana. The initiative appeared on theNovember 4, 2008, ballot inMassachusetts.
The measure was passed on Nov 4.[1] and became public law on January 2, 2009
Question 2:
Replaced criminal penalties with a US$100 fine of which the proceeds go to the city where the offense takes place.
Eliminated the collection of Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) reports for minor marijuana related infractions.
Maintained then-current penalties for selling, growing, and trafficking marijuana, as well as the prohibition againstdriving under the influence of marijuana.
The law requires additional penalties for minors such as Parental notification, compulsory drug awareness program, and 10 hours community service that was not required under prior law. It also requires a larger US$1,000 fine and possible delinquency proceedings for those under 17 if they do not complete the requirements of the law.
The law represents a break with prior law in Massachusetts, where people charged with marijuana possession faced criminal penalties of up to six months in jail and a US$500 fine, as well as a CORI report being filed.
On Tuesday, September 10, 2008, a city councillor inWorcester called for a vote on a measure to express the opposition by the city of Worcester to theinitiative. The city council rejected and voted down the measure by a 10-1 vote, with the only vote for the measure coming from the councillor that requested the vote.[2]
Paul T. Breeden - President/CEO Boston Live Magazine/Boston Live Charity Fund Inc.
Ronald Ansin, ACLU, philanthropist
Charles H. Baron, Esq., Boston College School of Law
Jack Cole, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
Michael D. Cutler, Esq.
Richard Elliott Doblin, PhD, MAPS
Sergeant Howard Donohue, a 33-year veteran of the Boston Police Department
Lester Grinspoon, M.D., associate professor emeritus of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School
John H. Halpern, M.D., assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School
Massachusetts state Sen. Patricia Jehlen (D-Second Middlesex), chair of the Joint Committee on Elder Affairs and Vice-Chair of the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight
Wendy Kaminer, Esq., ACLU, author, journalist
Woody Kaplan, ACLU, philanthropist
Thomas R. Kiley, Esq., Cosgrove, Eisenberg & Kiley
Karen Klein, Brandeis University, Unitarian Universalists for Drug Policy Reform
Lanny Kutakoff, Partakers, Inc.
Dr. Robert Meenan, dean of the Boston University School of Public Health
Lieutenant Thomas Nolan, a 30-year veteran of the Boston Police Department who now teaches criminology at Boston University
Massachusetts state Rep. Frank Smizik (D-Fifteenth Norfolk), chair of the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture
Carl Valvo, Esq., Cosgrove, Eisenberg & Kiley
Ernest "Tony" Windsor, Esq., Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
George Soros - Hedge Fund Manager
Massachusetts State Rep. Jim O'Day (D-fourteenth Worcester)[5]
ASuffolk University /WHDH Channel 7 poll has shown that 72 percent ofGreater 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.[6]
A FastTrack poll by WBZ TV /Survey USA on September 17 showed that 69% of all Massachusetts voters would favor either decriminalization or legalization. It was broken down to 30% want it remain a crime, 31% want it changed to a civil fine and 38% would like it to be legalized completely. The poll had a margin of error of 4.5%.[7]
TheNational Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse (also known as the Shafer Commission) was created by Public Law 91-513 in 1972 to study marijuana abuse in the United States. It published its findings in a report calledMarihuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding and recommended that the president should decriminalize possession of marijuana in amounts that constituted "simple possession".[9]
So far 30 non-binding public policy questions calling for civil fines for possession of marijuana rather than criminal penalties have passed in legislative districts throughout Massachusetts since 2000. These questions were passed with an average of 62% of the vote in favor. No Public policy question related to replacing criminal penalties with civil fines has ever failed in the state of Massachusetts.[10]
The Joint Mental Health and Substance Abuse Committee of theMassachusetts General Court voted 6-1 in favor of a bill that would have made possession of less than an ounce of marijuana punishable by a civil fine.[11]
BillionaireGeorge Soros made an initial contribution of $400,000. The committee has also received $750,000 cash as well as about $320,000 in donated time and services from theMarijuana Policy Project, an organization created to reform marijuana laws in the United States. According to campaign finance reports, as of November 1, 2008, the committee has raised approximately $1,250,000 to help pass the measure with $40,060.90 remaining.[12]
The Coalition for Safe Streets, a committee organized to oppose Question 2, launched a statewide campaign Sept. 5 to defeat the measure.Jonathan W. Blodgett, the Essex County District Attorney serves as the Coalition's treasurer and chairman.
Michael O'Keefe, the president of the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association, is opposed to the initiative. He believes that the measure will lead to an increase in minors using the drug by sending the wrong message to them.
The O'Keefe Committee is one of ten committees representing district attorneys in Massachusetts that have contributed to the Coalition.[13]
William Breault, chairman of the Main South Alliance for Public Safety in Worcester, also plans to oppose this initiative.
According to Campaign Finance reports, as of November 1, 2008, the ten committees representing district attorneys in Massachusetts have contributed approximately $2,275 each to the Coalition along with a donation of $2,500 from the Worcester County Deputy Sheriffs Association as well as a few other donors for a total of approx $60,000, after expenditures they have $0 to fight the initiative and $2,601.92 in outstanding liabilities.[14]
On September 17, 2008, theCommittee for Sensible Marijuana Policy filed complaints with the Office of Campaign and Political Finance and the Attorney General's office against theMassachusetts District Attorney Association, the 11 state district attorneys andO'Neill and Associates, a Boston public relations firm. Violations of the campaign finance law could result in up to 1 year in jail and a $1,000 fine.[15][16]
Also, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone has stated that in the event the majority of voters in the State of Massachusetts were to pass the initiative, he will attempt to override the vote and defeat it in an appellate process.[17]
Under Massachusetts law, it is illegal to solicit, receive, or spend funds to support or oppose a ballot initiative without first forming a political committee. CSMP alleges that the district attorneys solicited, received, and spent donations before they were legally allowed to, attempting to conceal their campaign activity for as long as they could.
CSMP further alleges that the district attorneys used public funds to post and house a statement urging voters to reject the decriminalization initiative on its Web site, a violation of Massachusetts election law, which prohibits public officials from using public resources to advocate for or against a ballot initiative. The statement on the state run Massachusetts District Attorneys Association website says that if the question is approved, "any person may carry and use marijuana at any time," which is untrue.
The support group collected over 105,000 signatures, far exceeding the requirement of 66,593 valid signatures. Since Massachusetts is an indirect initiative state, this meant that theMassachusetts State Legislature had to take up the proposed measure. Since the legislature declined to act on it by early May, the supporters 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.[18][19][20]
As per Massachusetts law, the initiative became public law on January 2, 2009, 30 days from the date it was presented to the Governor's Council and certified.
County results
Municipality results
Precinct results
Yes
