Marijuana Policy on Ballots in Massachusetts and Nationwide

 

Marijuana Policy on Ballots in Michigan,Massachusetts , and Nationwide

November 3, 2008

Votes Could Signal Shift Under New Administration

(Washington, D.C.) With several landmark marijuana initiatives on ballots today — including a proposal to protect Michigan medical marijuana patients from arrest and another to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana in Massachusetts — officials with the Marijuana Policy Project are available for comment and analysis election night and throughout the week. With a new administration coming into the White House, the votes — which also include city and county measures in Arkansas, California and Hawaii — could presage a national shift in direction on marijuana policy.

MPP will have representatives available for on-camera interviews in Washington, San Francisco and Boston, where MPP executive director Rob Kampia will speak at the victory celebration for Question 2, the decriminalization initiative.

If passed, the MPP-supported Proposal 1 in Michigan would make the state the 13th in the country — and the first in the Midwest — to protect patients from arrest for using medical marijuana if their physicians recommend it. Passage would mean that one in four Americans lives in a state allowing medical marijuana.

Massachusetts’ Question 2 would treat adult possession of an ounce or less of marijuana as a civil violation, carrying a $100 fine similar to a routine traffic violation. By treating small marijuana violations as a civil — rather than criminal — infraction, those caught with small amounts of marijuana would avoid the harsh consequences of a criminal arrest that can hinder a person for life. This includes access to opportunities such as employment, student aid, housing assistance and food stamps.

For a complete list of marijuana-related ballot initiatives as well as their results as they become available, visit http://www.mpp.org/library/2008-ballot-initiatives.html.

With more than 25,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit www.MarijuanaPolicy.org.