WINDHAM, NH — Retired Salem police Officer John Tomassi is among a handful of police officers who believe the criminal penalties for marijuana possession are too severe.
Tomassi, a Windham resident, is testifying in support of a New Hampshire bill to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana. If passed, people caught with a quarter ounce of pot would receive a ticket and a maximum $200 fine.
Attempts to legalize marijuana have failed in the past. But last week, a House subcommittee passed this bill 3-1 with some amendments….
Tomassi, who now teaches economics at Bentley College, sees the problem from both an economic and law enforcement perspective.
Legalization would not end the nation’s drug problem but it would stop the violence, he said. Last year, 1.8 million people were charged with drug crimes, Tomassi said.
“You would like to think most of them were major drug dealers,” he said. But most were charged with marijuana possession. Tomassi said drug dealers fear the legalization of drugs, which would dry up their profits and put them out of business. He draws a parallel between the current situation and crime during Prohibition.
Police officers are often on our side when it comes to reducing the penalties for personal marijuana possession. They are the ones on the front lines of the drug war who see firsthand that prohibition is a costly failure. They’d much rather be busting people for real crimes, but the laws require them to harass and arrest people who use marijuana. And what kind of message do we send to kids when we arrest more people for growing or possessing a non-toxic plant than we do for all violent crimes combined?
Many fine activists are working hard to free up police resources for serious crimefighting by eliminating the laws against marijuana possession. Be sure to check out today’s Audio Stash and hear our interview with one such activist, Matt Simon from the New Hampshire Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy.
