Legislature Passes Major Drug Reform

The Massachusetts legislature approved Friday a comprehensive bill to reform the state's drug laws.

The House, defeating a motion to postpone debate until January, approved the measure by a 141-73 vote. The Senate followed suit soon afterwards by a vote of 26-10.

Rep. Michael F. Flaherty (D-South Boston). House chairman of the Legislative Commission on Drug Abuse which designed the bill, termed the measure a "recodification" of the outdated Massachusetts drug laws and said yesterday that he was very pleased with the Legislature's vote.

The new legislation offers several innovative provisions that reduce or eliminate penalties for drug offenses, establish guidelines for drug distribution and research, and revise the scope of authority given to police to arrest a suspected drug offender.

The bill divides all controlled drugs into two sets of very detailed classifications. The first is concerned with the administration and regulation of the legitimate drug industry. Its purpose is to prevent medically useless or dangerous drugs from reaching the public through the legitimate drug market. The second set of classifications categorizes drugs for penalty purposes according to their potential for abuse and the degree of harm to the individual user.

First offense punishment for possession of marijuana will now be reduced to six months probation after which the offender's criminal record must be expunged. Second offense jail penalties will be not more than one year, and subsequent violations will draw no more than a two-year sentence. A first offense jail penalty for the sale of marijuana must not exceed two years, and subsequent offenses will draw no more than five years.

Possession of heroin, a drug which is listed in the highest classification as a dangerous narcotic, draws not more than a two-year jail sentence for any offense. First offense for the sale of heroin is punished by not more than two years, and sentences for subsequent sale offenses must not exceed 25 years.

The crime of "being present" where drugs are used has been totally abolished except in the case of heroin. Heroin "presence" penalties will be identical to those for marijuana possession.

The existence of a minimum sentence has been eliminated for all drug offenses. This enables professional personnel, judges, and probation officers working with convicted persons to use their discretion in handling individual drug offenders.