How BPD enforces new pot law
David Ertischek has a cleverly titled and interesting article in Wicked Local West Roxbury called:
The stems and seeds of the new marijuana law "compiled from the training bulletin that all Boston Police officers received regarding the initial implementation of new the marijuana law that decriminalized possession of an ounce or less of marijuana," in Q & A format.
It's good to know how our men in blue are being trained to enforce this decriminalized, civil infraction. More of this please. How much better would Bostonians be served if all BPD law enforcement policies were an open book? In general, people want to comply with the law and law enforcement, at the same time they don't want to be jerked around by a law enforcement officer with a hair across his (or her) ass. Opening up the enforcement policies to public review serves to make clear the expectations most citizens are intent to meet.
Comments
Thank you for posting this
Thank you for posting this, otherwise I'd never have seen it.
good info to know
Sure thing. It's good info to know, isn't it? (Whether you're likely to have an occasion in which it applies or not.)
You can be arrested for...
"if marijuana is packaged for distribution, or if other evidence of distribution is present, then you can be arrested. So you can still get arrested for possession of less than an ounce if it looks like you’re selling it because selling marijuana is still illegal"
You can be arrested for looking like you will commit a crime.
It looks like
It looks like decriminalization of < 1oz. does not apply to dealers with < 1 oz. but I don't know if you can make a reasonable argument that drug dealers are being treated unfairly.
Of more concern is someone who bought less than 1oz. combined divvied up in little packets from a dealer, but who does not deal. They are at risk of unwarranted prosecution and here is where we hope the police and DA end up showing good judgment. I think the DA will need to see evidence of deal making (beyond the the existence of these little packets, which you are right,is not evidence of dealing.) Still who needs to be arrested and charged by a cop with no evidence before the DA straightens it out. The moral of the story is, never buy it in more than one bag.
and never sell it with more than one bag either!
nt
UP, dear heart
"a hair UP his (or her) ass." Who says "across"?
apparently
those of us raised in Greater Boston, dear heart!
bug up, hair across
You seem to have a bug up your ass about my use of the expression "hair across your arse". Hold on the exterminator's here.
Yes but one still has to
Yes but one still has to acquire said marijuana from a criminal in the first place. I'm all for the decriminalization of pot, the current law is silly and in a way dangerous. I'd be much happier if they just outright legalized it or at least allowed people to grow a couple plants for personal use. I don't use it myself but if I started to I wouldn't want to be forced to purchase it through criminal channels.
$
I don't like how the fine is $100 but the drug program has to be more. Just means taxpayers are going to be paying for this?
I think the fine should be more and police should be able to identify smokers in a public place, just for that very reason that having pot means you dealt with some sort of criminal that sold you the pot.
Expect some interesting court decisions on weed in MA in the next few years...
the law doesn't provide for this?
"police should be able to identify smokers in a public place"
the law
doesn't provide for a lot of things!