Letter: Pot initiative stops short of outright legalization

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February 17, 2012

The Salem News Fri Feb 17, 2012, 04:30 AM EST

To the editor:

I am disappointed Peter Lewis is spending his money on legalizing the medicinal use of marijuana in Massachusetts instead of ending the state's prohibition on adults engaging in the cultivation and commerce in cannabis, as he is in Washington.

Massachusetts voters are ready, as they were in 1930 when they repealed the state's "baby" Volstead Act, to repeal the state prohibition in order to conserve scarce resources, leaving it to the feds to enforce their prohibition.

As long as the unconstitutional federal prohibition remains in place, those who cultivate and distribute marijuana in compliance with state laws, such as that proposed in the Committee for Compassionate Medicine's initiative, face federal prosecution. That threat is very real. The Obama administration is expending its scarce resources on prosecuting dispensaries in states that allow them and threatening their landlords with forfeiture of their real estate if they do not evict them.

The Legislature should pass the initiative petition into law by the first Wednesday of May, obviating the need for it to go on the ballot in November. If they don't, our elected officials will again be exposed as out of step with the overwhelming majority of their constituents.

Steven S. Epstein

Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition

Georgetown

(Editor's note: Ohio billionaire Peter Lewis is a major contributor to the Committee for Compassionate Medicine, which is seeking support for a November ballot question authorizing the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes in Massachusetts.)

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Letter: Pot initiative stops short of outright legalization

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