[420 Girl]

SPRINGFIELD - Quality of life issues collided with questions about the will of the voters Monday as the City Council debated a plan to toughen the state's new marijuana law.

At issue was a proposal to amend a new state law to add a $300 fine to an existing $100 fine for people caught using marijuana in public. The council referred the proposal to committee.

The proposed city ordinance - which has the backing of Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet - would be a response to a state law that took effect Jan. 2 that has decriminalized possession of an ounce or less of marijuana.

The new law took effect after voters overwhelmingly approved ballot Question 2 in November.

Under the new law, the drug is still illegal, but possessing a small amount brings only a fine of $100 without an arrest.

Councilor James J. Ferrera III, after learning Chicopee was considering enacting its own higher fine under the new law, proposed the ordinance. The goal is to avoid making Springfield a haven for pot smokers if surrounding communities up their fines, he said.

"I thought it would be appropriate for the city of Springfield to adopt because we're all dealing with quality of life issues," Ferrera said.

Fitchet said last week he supported the proposed ordinance because smoking marijuana publicly, especially in the vicinity of schools, sends a bad message.

William C. Newman, director of the Western Massachusetts office of the American Civil Liberties Union, asked the council to delay a vote to allow for more discussion.

The proposed ordinance could clog courts with pot-fine appeals, he said: Many people might simply pay a $100 fine, but many others are likely to contest a fine of $400.

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