On the night of Nov. 4, in the midst of the various festivities at Tufts commemorating the election of Barack Obama, some students found something else to celebrate. Instead of -- or maybe just before -- heading to one of the impromptu Obama rallies, they lit up their joints and smoked away in honor of the passage of Question 2.
These students smoked with a noticeable lack of discretion, believing they no longer had to fear the big, bad Five-O. While this sort of conduct might not jam offenders up with a felony anymore, that does not equate to a free pass.
Question 2 was an initiated state statute that, with its successful passage, decriminalized in Massachusetts the possession of up to an ounce of marijuana. What does that mean, anyway? No, marijuana is not now legal. It is decriminalized, which means that possession no longer carries criminal penalties. Instead, marijuana possession now comes complete civil punishments. If Joe Potsmoker is caught with up to one ounce of Mary Jane, he will receive a $100 civil citation as long as he is at least 18. If he is under that age, however, in addition to the fine, he will also have to go through a drug awareness program (or pay a steeper fine).
But the laws set forth by Question 2 have yet to take effect; no change will be made until 30 days after the Governor's Council certifies the election results. As a result, for the time being, marijuana possession still carries the same criminal consequences as before Election Day (a $500 fine and/or up to six months in jail).
The other issue to look at is what Question 2 means for police officers. While specific guidelines regarding citations have yet to be sent down to local officers, the expectation is that they will be similar to traffic violations. This means that they will likely provide much less paperwork for police officers than, say, arresting someone for a felony. While police officers may have, in the past, looked the other way and given just a warning to someone caught with marijuana, now they may be much more likely to dole out that citation.
Now we come to Tufts' own policies regarding marijuana, which will remain largely the same. Tufts University Police Department Officers have always shied away from arresting students for marijuana possession and are not particularly relevant in the realm of criminal charges. Basically, possession of marijuana will continue to be treated roughly the same as illegal possession of alcohol.
Marijuana is still illegal. To not treat it as such could leave students with more problems than they expected. They would be wise to think twice the next time before deciding to light up a joint on the sidewalk next to a TUPD car. While it might not earn them a pair of handcuffs, there's still plenty left to jam them up.
