Word: marijuana
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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When citizens of Massachusetts voted yes in November to Question 2, the “Sensible Marijuana Policy Initiative,” many of them thought that they were voting to legalize marijuana. Because marijuana is illegal under federal, not state law, this would be impossible—states can only choose how they punish use of the drug, not whether or not it is illegal. The new law, which was inserted into The General Laws of Massachusetts, chapter 94C, section 32L, actually reads, “possession of one ounce or less of marihuana shall only be a civil...
...essential to uphold the integrity of the law to the degree that law enforcement officers can. In a January 3rd article in the Boston Globe, “Police Balk at Ticketing Marijuana Offenders,” chiefs of police in the towns Clinton and Auburn stated that because of the flaws in the law’s wording, their forces would not even attempt to enforce it. Their line of reasoning here is faulty. Police are not hired to legislate, but to enforce legislation. One concern voiced by Wayne Sampson, executive director of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association?...
...worth noting, however, that some police officers’ reluctance to enforce the law as it now reads may be because citizens of Massachusetts on whole (police included) overwhelmingly believe that marijuana use should not be considered a crime. While it is understandable that the Massachusetts Sheriff’s Union and the Massachusetts’ Chiefs of Police Association opposed Question 2 (due of the enforcement challenges that it presents), these very organizations could make their own—and citizens’—lives much easier by supporting movements such as the National Organization...
...Question 2 raises several important issues for Law Enforcement Officers in Massachusetts. For now, officers should do the best that they can to enforce the existing laws. Eventually, however, officers’ organizations should realize that all would benefit from removing marijuana from the controlled substances act and letting states determine the actual legality of smoking pot. Law enforcement organizations would help citizens and themselves by getting behind the movement to legalize marijuana...
...Obama's transition team for reports on the best ways to tackle health-care reform. More recently, some 100,000 people participated in an interactive feature on the transition website Change.gov, which allows people to vote on questions they want Obama to answer. Some popular examples: Will you legalize marijuana? Will you appoint a prosecutor to investigate possible Bush Administration crimes? All this was done with almost no publicity and barely a whisper of encouragement from Obama himself. As a scholar of online politics, Personal Democracy Forum's Micah Sifry, puts it, "I think Obama is sitting on a volcano...