“Please Get High Responsibly?”

By: Kate Shively

A group of students is gathered in front of the TV one Tuesday night when an ad for Budweiser starts to play. At the end of the commercial, a voiceover proclaims the message “Please drink responsibly.”

But with the decriminalization of marijuana newly established in Massachusetts, some wonder if there will soon be ads reading “please smoke responsibly.”

Kiera Doherty, a student of Stonehill College, says she thinks legalization is on its way, and that it is a good idea.

“Look at cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana,” Doherty said. “They are all bad for you, yet only one is illegal. I don’t understand the distinction.”

On November 4, 2008, 65 percent of Massachusetts voted to decriminalize the possession of less than an ounce of marijuana. Previously, a person convicted of marijuana possession could face up to six months in jail, a fine of $500, and a Criminal Offender Record Information report (CORI.)

A CORI is essentially a “black mark on his or her record that lingers long after the minor offense and jeopardizes the person’s ability to obtain jobs, housing and school loans,” according to the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy.

According to the committee, 2.8 million out of 6 million Massachusetts residents have a CORI on their record. That’s 47 percent of people in the state.

“This law reduces the number of people in jail,” Doherty said. “It’s good because it frees up the prisons and we won’t be wasting more money.”

But will the new law increase drug use?

According to a study done by the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine “there is little evidence that decriminalization of marijuana leads to a substantial increase in its use.”

Another study done by the Connecticut Law Review Commission reports “reducing the penalties for marijuana has virtually no effect on either choice or frequency of the use of alcohol or illegal 'harder' drugs such as cocaine."

Doherty said she thinks the legalization of marijuana could also bring money into the government similarly to the way the lottery tax in New York supports public education.

“I think it should be legalized so we can tax it and generate a lot of revenue,” Doherty said. “People are going to use it anyway. That money could be going to better places.”

As it is written, the new law states that adults possessing an ounce or less of marijuana for personal use would receive a simple $100 fine. There is also no longer a threat of a CORI report for minor marijuana possession charges, but those found selling, growing, or driving under the influence of marijuana are subject to the same laws as before.

Previously Massachusetts spent about $29.5 million per year in law enforcement resources in “low-level marijuana possession arrests,” according to a 2008 report by Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron.

“I don’t get the people who say ‘marijuana should be illegal,’ Jacob Edwards, a student of Stonehill College said. “ It’s not because they don’t like it. It means that all the pot smokers who are generally good people will end up in jail for something small.”

Edwards cited the 1920s prohibition on alcohol as an example of a law that had an adverse effect on people.

“A lot of people actually drank more when alcohol became illegal,” he said. “Maybe it will be the opposite if marijuana is legalized.”

Not all students, however, say the decriminalization is a good change.

“There are no benefits to marijuana like there are to some types of alcohol,” Grace Lapointe, a student of Stonehill College said. “I don’t think it should be encouraged at all. It’s still a gateway drug.”

According to DARE Massachusetts, marijuana has some harmful effects. DARE reports that marijuana impairs mental functions such as memory, judgment, and perception. Increased use can also cause decreased interest in school activities.

Dominic DiNatale, executive director of DARE Massachusetts says the new law doesn’t affect the program, which focuses on youth awareness and prevention.

“We’re geared more toward prevention than reaction at this point,” DiNatale said.

DiNatale also said that even though DARE teaches kids from kindergarten to graduation, most teaching is aimed at middle school children.

“The majority of our preparedness for our kids is for fourth to seventh grades,” he said. “We’re hoping that by the time kids get to that age they already have in the back of their mind what the consequences are for doing drugs.”

The DARE program also focuses on prevention of other types of drug abuse, as well as alcohol abuse.

Taylor Butts, a student at Southern Vermont College, said he doesn’t understand why marijuana is illegal when drugs like Salvia Divinorum aren’t.

“Salvia has the same effects as LSD, but the trip only lasts about 15 minutes,” Butts said. “It is intense, but completely legal. So tell me, why isn’t marijuana?”

Salvia is in the same family as herbs like mint and sage, but it has a strong psychoactive effect. It was originally used as sacred medicine by indigenous shamanic healers in Mexico.

According to the National Drug Intelligence Center, extended use of Salvia divinorum can cause depression and schizophrenia, but it is legal because the Drug Enforcement Administration has not finished monitoring reports of the drug’s abuse in the United States.

In comparison to Salvia, students believe that marijuana is the least of the government’s concerns.

“There are harmful effects to alcohol and everything too,” Stonehill student Doherty said. “The new message on marijuana should stress responsibility instead of abstinence since people are going to do it anyway.”