Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
We smirked when our parents gave us "the drug talk." As children of baby boomers, most of whom inhaled and inhaled again, being told by them of the dangers of marijuana was the ultimate do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do-ism.
It must be just as tough for lawmakers to have to explain why they vote down the occasional marijuana decriminalization bill when it comes up. Chances are their constituency, like the rest of the country, considers Jerry Garcia and Bob Marley icons and toking up around a bonfire a basic part of the college experience. And still the politicos have to say getting locked up for a baggie of green stuff is fair (or they may face the campaign-killer of being seen as soft on crime).
They'd probably prefer to change the topic of conversation to gay marriage.
So when state senators Martin Looney (D-New Haven, Hamden) and Toni Harp (D-New Haven, East Haven) proposed a bill that would make "the penalty for possessing less than one ounce of marijuana an infraction rather than an unclassified misdemeanor," thus subject to a fine rather than an arrest, we saw an opportunity.
In the mission of seeing which of our elected officials could handle a tough question and in the general spirit of making people uncomfortable, we e-mailed and called every state senator who represents Fairfield County and asked for comment of Senate Bill 349.
The first to get back from us was State Sen. Andrew Roraback (R), whose massive district includes Brookfield at its toe. "While I have in the past supported the medicinal use of marijuana, I do not support SB 349," he says. "As marijuana becomes more and more potent, we should not be encouraging its use."
Next we heard from Dan Debicella (R-Shelton, Stratford), who says, "The philosophy that we should treat the users and punish the dealers is the right one" — but he doesn't support the bill because it includes no stiffer penalties for dealers.
The third call came from Bob Duff (D-Darien, Norwalk), who says, "It's about the message we send to our young people, and I do believe marijuana is a gateway drug, so we have to weigh decriminalizing marijuana with steps to keep our young people away from it."
The harshest words came from Toni Boucher (R-Ridgefield, Westport, Wilton). She says that medical facilities in her district tell her horror stories of teens they treat for "marijuana addiction" and that the hideous plant was been "proven to be a gateway drug." She adds, "I think the bill's sponsors are making light of a very dangerous situation."
We got a last-minute call from fresh-faced Scott Frantz (R-Greenwich, Stamford), who says, "I'm not in favor of it. I worry what will happen when we open that door. This always leads to further liberalization of drug laws."
An aide to Andrew McDonald (D-Darien, Stamford) said that, as chair of the Judiciary Committee, he was busy all day confirming judges and thus couldn't take any pot-related questions, and a staffer for House Minority Leader John McKinney (Easton, Fairfield, Newtown) was very friendly and responsive but couldn't get a comment to us by deadline.
So, if you see them, Ed Gomes (D-Bridgeport), Michael McLachlan (R-Danbury, New Fairfield) or Anthony Musto (D-Bridgeport, Trumbull), be sure to ask them about weed!
News Hawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Fairfield County Weekly
Author: Nick Keppler
Copyright: 2009 New Mass Media
Contact: OpenDNS
Website: Fairfield County Weekly: News - County Fair: Ask Your Senator About Weed
It must be just as tough for lawmakers to have to explain why they vote down the occasional marijuana decriminalization bill when it comes up. Chances are their constituency, like the rest of the country, considers Jerry Garcia and Bob Marley icons and toking up around a bonfire a basic part of the college experience. And still the politicos have to say getting locked up for a baggie of green stuff is fair (or they may face the campaign-killer of being seen as soft on crime).
They'd probably prefer to change the topic of conversation to gay marriage.
So when state senators Martin Looney (D-New Haven, Hamden) and Toni Harp (D-New Haven, East Haven) proposed a bill that would make "the penalty for possessing less than one ounce of marijuana an infraction rather than an unclassified misdemeanor," thus subject to a fine rather than an arrest, we saw an opportunity.
In the mission of seeing which of our elected officials could handle a tough question and in the general spirit of making people uncomfortable, we e-mailed and called every state senator who represents Fairfield County and asked for comment of Senate Bill 349.
The first to get back from us was State Sen. Andrew Roraback (R), whose massive district includes Brookfield at its toe. "While I have in the past supported the medicinal use of marijuana, I do not support SB 349," he says. "As marijuana becomes more and more potent, we should not be encouraging its use."
Next we heard from Dan Debicella (R-Shelton, Stratford), who says, "The philosophy that we should treat the users and punish the dealers is the right one" — but he doesn't support the bill because it includes no stiffer penalties for dealers.
The third call came from Bob Duff (D-Darien, Norwalk), who says, "It's about the message we send to our young people, and I do believe marijuana is a gateway drug, so we have to weigh decriminalizing marijuana with steps to keep our young people away from it."
The harshest words came from Toni Boucher (R-Ridgefield, Westport, Wilton). She says that medical facilities in her district tell her horror stories of teens they treat for "marijuana addiction" and that the hideous plant was been "proven to be a gateway drug." She adds, "I think the bill's sponsors are making light of a very dangerous situation."
We got a last-minute call from fresh-faced Scott Frantz (R-Greenwich, Stamford), who says, "I'm not in favor of it. I worry what will happen when we open that door. This always leads to further liberalization of drug laws."
An aide to Andrew McDonald (D-Darien, Stamford) said that, as chair of the Judiciary Committee, he was busy all day confirming judges and thus couldn't take any pot-related questions, and a staffer for House Minority Leader John McKinney (Easton, Fairfield, Newtown) was very friendly and responsive but couldn't get a comment to us by deadline.
So, if you see them, Ed Gomes (D-Bridgeport), Michael McLachlan (R-Danbury, New Fairfield) or Anthony Musto (D-Bridgeport, Trumbull), be sure to ask them about weed!
News Hawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Fairfield County Weekly
Author: Nick Keppler
Copyright: 2009 New Mass Media
Contact: OpenDNS
Website: Fairfield County Weekly: News - County Fair: Ask Your Senator About Weed
