GO, MA! Less than an ounce is legal? YOU ROCK!

[babylonsister]

Good for those that do, and those that don't care.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. Your mother can make that happen?

Wow, is she gonna be popular in a day or so.

[babylonsister]

5. Dammit. MA = Mass. And

:rofl: She'd love it! Mom has been gone for a lot of years, but she'd laugh at this! And I'm thinking about her. It's all good.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

Delete

Fargin' database burps.

[Warpy]

2. I'm thinking it's time to move back there

I could afford the lousy but available MassCare and bake loaded brownies to help me cope with pain, to boot!

[MADem]

9. The suitability of MASSCARE is more a function of where you live

than anything else.

I know a diabetic who gets superb care on MASSCARE. Everything from checkups to drugs to glasses.

[babylonsister]

16. I don't know. The weather, especially this winter, has really sucked.

Nah, but I hope MA influences all the other states. It will happen eventually, I think.

[chucktaylor]

3. Not legal, decriminalized. It has been that way for 100 grams in Ohio for years.

possession of small amounts of marijuana, making getting caught with less than an ounce of pot punishable by a civil fine of $100.

[babylonsister]

21. Really. I didn't know that. Thanks. nt

[chucktaylor]

22. What they don't say is, it still gets you a drug charge on your record.

It is not as innocuous as a speeding ticket. The Feds and future employers can see it. You will still lose your Federal student aid.

[CoffeeCat]

4. Ohhhhhhh...

...the fall leaves will be even prettier this year!

[liberalpress]

6. Dude!

What? Wait...

[MADem]

7. Not legal.

It's simply a ticket and a hundred buck fine if you are caught.

The state wants towns and cities to implement "no public use" laws to keep it off the streets.

It was a referendum question on the November ballot. Many police officers favored it, because it got cops out of booking kids, which takes them off the street, and it got cops out of going to court...unless the offender wants to challenge the ticket.

[Fozzledick]

8. Not quite, it's just "decriminalized"

Downgraded to a "civil offense", like a traffic ticket: $100 fine, but no criminal record.

Enforcement details are still vague, but it will still be confiscated, and minors caught are subject to mandatory "education".

Technically, the big change is a reduction from the old statutory punishment of up to $500 fine and/or one year imprisonment, but in practice nearly all cases were given $100 fine, 6 months probation, and $45-90 "court costs", so the real difference is elimination of arrest, legal expenses and criminal record, but the de facto fine is pretty much the same.

All in all, it's a step in the right direction, but a painfully small one.

[Ian David]

12. If you still get probation, then doesn't that mean if you get caught twice in 6 months...

... you still go to jail?

And if you're on probation, aren't they watching you pretty closely, making you more likely to get caught (and jailed) for something stupid, like possessing an illegally small lobster or something?

[Fozzledick]

13. That was the OLD law

No imprisonment under the new, under the old it was up to each individual judge, but unless there were other charges involved they usually just gave a fine & court costs.

[Hippo_Tron]

15. I'd say it's more than a painfully small one

The fact that people get criminal records for simple possession of marijuana is the real problem with the war on drugs. Yes the fine still sucks but having to pay a $100 fine doesn't ruin anybody's life.

[Fozzledick]

20. That was the main point of the referendum

The fine was deliberately set at the current de facto level so it wouldn't be an issue,
but the problems of the criminal black market and lack of legal supply still remain.

[Hippo_Tron]

27. Those are lesser problems than people (usually poor people) getting a criminal record

And that basically makes it impossible for them to get jobs and then become productive members of society.

[Ian David]

31. Eventually the fine may be replaced by a tax or a licensing fee. n/t

[High Plains]

10. And Massachusetts makes 12. Here's the rest:

Oregon
California
Nevada
Colorado
Minnesota
Mississippi !!
Ohio
North Carolina
New York
Maine
Alaska

[Tunkamerica]

19. nc? how have i lived here my whole life, read the news religiously

and not heard that? Got a link?

[High Plains]

28. Here's info from NORML:

Although NORML marks NC as a decrim state, that's not technically correct. It is still a misdemeanor, but carries a mandatory suspended sentence.

North Carolina


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conditional decriminalized hemp drugged driving tax stamps
Details About this report

Possession Incarceration Fine

1/2 oz or less misdemeanor 30 days* $200
1/2 to 1 1/2 oz misdemeanor 1 - 120 days** $500
More than 1 1/2 oz felony up to 12 months Discretionary Fine
*Suspended sentence mandatory.

[Tunkamerica]

30. yeah still on your record and still a big fine, kind of what i thought.

[Ian David]

11. IIRC, it's still illegal to grow it, buy it, or sell it.

The only way I can think of for one to possess less than an ounce without buying it or growing it is for one to simply find it lying around somewhere.

[High Plains]

14. I don't think buying it is a crime.

[Fozzledick]

17. I don't think it should be, but selling hasn't changed

I've read of some states charging for "conspiracy to possess" or "conspiracy to violate drug laws", but in Mass. I think it would more likely be treated as simple possession.

Still, it leaves no legal way to obtain it, even for medical patients.

[chucktaylor]

23. Yes it is, even if the drug is decriminalized. It is possession.

[High Plains]

29. Possession is what has just been decriminalized.

[babylonsister]

18. Ha! It will happen, and I hope MA leads the way. nt

[The Traveler]

24. Further evidence

that I should leave the South ...

But, no.

I'm your Huckleberry ... so the mere idea is incredible. :)

Trav

[babylonsister]

25. My blood has thinned. I'm doomed. :) nt

[The Traveler]

26. Nonsense, my dear

Clearly, your blood is fire itself. :)

Trav