In November 2008, residents of Harvard voted more than two to one in favor of a ballot measure to decriminalize marijuana. Statewide, the measure passed with 65 percent of the vote and became law on January 2, 2009. But decriminalization is not the same as legalization. Possession of marijuana remains illegal. And recent incidents suggest that some teenagers and parents may remain confused about its implications.
Under the old Massachusetts law, a person found with any amount of marijuana, no matter how small, faced up to six months’ imprisonment and a $500 fine. Under the new law, the possession of less than an ounce of marijuana changed from a criminal offense to a civil one, similar to a parking ticket or traffic violation.
$100 fines for an ounce or less
Since 2009, an adult caught with an ounce or less is subject to a $100 fine and forfeiture of the marijuana. An offender under 18 faces the same penalties, with the additional provisions that his or her parents are to be notified and that the young person must attend a drug awareness program and do ten hours of community service. Failure to complete the program and the community service within a year may increase the fine to $1,000, for which both the offender and the parents are liable.
Harvard Police Chief Ed Denmark sees parental involvement as the most important factor. “What’s more important than the monetary fine is to engage the parents,” he said. “But when we see that is not working, as when we have repeat offenders, then we turn to the fines and the drug awareness programs.”
Selling, growing, and trafficking marijuana remain criminal offenses, as does driving under the influence of marijuana.
Town Clerk Janet Vellante says that the town has received several hundred dollars in fines from persons found to be in possession of marijuana when stopped by the State Police on Route 2 within Harvard’s borders.
Harvard voters never got the chance to express an opinion on another law relating to marijuana. In 2009, the Board of Selectmen considered a proposed local bylaw setting a $300 fine for using marijuana on any “street, sidewalk, public way, footway, passageway, stair, bridge, park, playground, beach, recreation area, boat landing, public building, schoolhouse, school grounds, cemetery, parking lot, or any area owned by or under control of the town; or in or upon any bus or other passenger conveyance operated by a common carrier; or in any place accessible to the public.”
The selectmen placed that measure on the warrant for the 2009 Annual Town Meeting. However, they later withdrew it at the request of Chief Denmark, so that the language could be refined. The proposed bylaw was expected to come up for a vote a couple of months later, in June 2009, when a Special Town Meeting was scheduled to deal with rezoning Vicksburg Square. But the marijuana measure never resurfaced.
Looking back, Denmark told the Press that there did not seem to be widespread support for the bylaw at the time. In addition, a number of towns in Massachusetts had tried to pass laws essentially re-criminalizing marijuana within their borders, and all those laws had been struck down in the courts.
‘Parents want more discussion’
Denmark said that he has been asked to speak at the seventh-grade wellness program before the end of the school year, and he expects to focus on the trends and legal issues involved with marijuana use.
“Parents seem to want more open discussion and education about this issue,” he said.
