On Wednesday, the N.H. Senate voted to kill a bill that would have decriminalized possession of less than half an ounce of marijuana. The bill passed in the House back in March — another in a long line of marijuana-reform legislation passed in the past few years.

May 3 — To the Editor:



On Wednesday, the N.H. Senate voted to kill a bill that would have decriminalized possession of less than half an ounce of marijuana. According to the Portsmouth Herald, "A first offense would have been a violation punishable by a $250 fine. The second would have been $500. Subsequent offenses would have been misdemeanors subject to a year of jail time and a $1,000 fine. Offenders under 21 would also have been ordered to take a drug awareness program." The bill passed in the House back in March — another in a long line of marijuana-reform legislation passed in the past few years.



Yet this modest reform would never have survived even had it passed in the Senate. Gov. Lynch promised to veto the bill — just as he has vetoed every attempt by both Democratic- and Republican-controlled Legislatures to alter the status quo.



Those opposed to reform claim that any attempt to change the way we treat marijuana and those who use it, either for medicinal purposes or personal pleasure, is just a smokescreen covering the true intent of the reformers: legalization of marijuana. The horror!



What gets far less attention, however, are the large and powerful forces at work trying to protect their pocketbooks by keeping other people behind bars — or scared of being put there. The same day the Senate was dumbing itself down to the level of the Reefer Madness crowd, Truthout.org published a story titled "The Top Five Special Interest Groups Lobbying to Keep Marijuana Illegal." The biggest groups bankrolling anti-marijuana politicians and opposing attempts at legal reform across the country are: police unions; private prisons; liquor, beer and tobacco companies; pharmaceutical companies; and prison guard unions. No surprises there, and it kind of proves the old adage, "Where you stand on an issue is often determined by where you sit."



Scott McPherson



Portsmouth