[420 Girl]

The push to introduce a civil penalty system for pot possession is coming in the form of a ballot initiative almost entirely bankrolled by billionaire Democratic heavyweight George Soros and a Senate bill that has languished in the Legislature for years.

“The voters of Massachusetts are for this,” said Whitney A. Taylor, chairwoman of the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy, which is sponsoring the ballot effort to decriminalize the possession of less than an ounce of pot.

Soros, a frequent contributor to marijuana legalization and decriminalization efforts nationwide, is the biggest contributor to the committee, according to records from the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance. The ballot campaign raised $429,000 in 2007, most of which came from a $400,000 donation that Soros made in June, records show.

“We’re opposed to it in any form because it’s just an inappropriate message to be sending, particularly to young people,” said Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe, who will lead an opposition effort as president of the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association.

Supporters of a civil penalty system say that criminal prosecution for minor amounts of grass wastes millions in law enforcement dollars, has minimal impact on drug use and creates a criminal record that could affect an offender’s housing, employment and borrowing opportunities for life.

Civil penalty opponents assert that lessening the consequences for pot possession sends the wrong message to young people, gives an advantage to drug dealers and poses a public health risk.

A conviction for marijuana possession comes with a maximum prison sentence of six months, fines up to $500 and up to a year’s loss of a driver’s license.

Several studies by a Harvard professor, Jeffrey A. Miron, whose work is partly funded by marijuana decriminalization backers, show prosecutions and jailings for small-scale pot cases cost the state about $130 million a year.

The ballot committee proposal would create a civil penalty system that includes a $100 fine, enrollment in a drug awareness program and parental notification for offenders under age 18. A similar bill sponsored by state Sen. Patricia D. Jehlen (D-Somerville) calls for a $250 civil fine.

The ballot committee cleared its first hurdle toward getting before voters in November last month by submitting more than 81,000 voter signatures to Secretary of State William Galvin, Taylor said. They needed to submit a minimum of 66,593 signatures.

Lawmakers now have until May 6 to act on the measure. If they don’t, another 11,099 voter signatures must be gathered by June 18 for the proposal to make the November ballot.

“Since the ’60s, this is something that I’ve paid attention to. The approach of the laws has been ever more draconian and that just defies common sense,” said attorney Thomas R. Kiley, who drafted the ballot proposal.


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