The Globe Is Wrong On Question 2!!!
If it seems like
I was just yesterday commending The Boston Globe for its coverage of ballot
Question 2 concerning marijuana decriminalization; it’s because I was. Indeed,
this past Monday reporter David Abel penned a news piece that evidenced how
ill-reasoned the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association (MDAA) is in its crusade
against the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy (CSMP).
But it turns out
that what we’ve always known is absolutely true: Globe editors don’t necessarily
read their own content. If they did, then they would endorse Question 2, which,
if passed, will lower the penalty for less than one ounce of weed to a $100 civil
fine. According to today’s paper, though, editors reject the measure because
they feel that, deep down, CSMP organizers simply want to get high.
Who cares what weed
reformers say they want? As the Globe concedes: “The state’s Criminal Offender
Record Information (CORI) database does have significant flaws…[that] can have disastrous
consequences particularly in poor, minority communities with high numbers of
ex-cons.” Hysterically, editors commended themselves for supporting “efforts by
Governor Patrick and community leaders to reform the CORI system.”
Basically – they’re
rejecting an initiative that can change things in the future because they
already backed non-materializing past plans. Reporters should know better; only a
lawmaker who wants to be known as “Representative Roach Clip” would throw his
or her weight behind aggressive CORI reform.
This stubborn
move by an editorial staff that I’ll bet has passed its share of joints around
the conference table raises serious concerns in this battle of the bong, as this
is hardly the proper time to prove that they’re not all liberal bong ripping nihilists.
If it didn’t even take the district attorneys’ nonsense to convince Globe
editors, then I fear how many of their readers might hypocritically fall in
line to help defeat what could be a major legislative feat in defense of young
folks and pot smokers across the Commonwealth.
