Ballot Question 2: Mary Jane's Last Dance?

Next week, Massachusetts voters will decide whether the commonwealths marijuana laws will go up in smoke.

Currently, offenders who possess an ounce or less of marijuana face criminal penalties of up to six months in jail, a $500 fine, and a criminal record. But if ballot Question 2 passes, possession of an ounce or less of marijuana would be a civil offense, punishable by a $100 fine, and no criminal record would exist. Offenders under age 18 would be required to complete a drug awareness program and perform community service. Subsequent marijuana violations would have more severe penalties.

Opponents argue that the revised law would essentially normalize the use of marijuana, encouraging its use among minors and making it easier for drug dealers to sell marijuana without being arrested. Supporters say that the measure would reduce a burden on the criminal justice system and save the state approximately $24.3 million per year, and that instances of minor marijuana possession would no longer jeopardize an offenders ability to obtain a job, housing, and school loans.

BU Today asked Thomas Nolan, a Metropolitan College associate professor of criminal justice and a former Boston police lieutenant, and David Breen, a School of Law clinical associate professor of law and a former Massachusetts assistant attorney general — who brought an ounce of oregano to the discussion to illustrate the issue — to examine both sides of the debate.

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