Chief does not want Lynn going to pot

LYNN – The City Council took its first step Tuesday to stiffen marijuana regulations within city limits since a statewide decriminalization law went into effect last month.The council’s ordinance committee passed a motion to bring a proposed city ordinance before the council at an upcoming meeting in hopes that it will be passed and increase penalties for those caught smoking or possessing marijuana.The proposition mirrors similar ones waiting to be passed in other local communities, including Revere, that would clarify how marijuana laws are enforced in wake of the statewide decriminalization law that was passed as a ballot question in November.”There are a bunch of flaws here,” Police Chief John Suslak said.As it stands now, if a person is caught by police with less than one ounce of pot, the suspect does not legally have to tell officers his or her name unless being charged with another crime. The state law also does not say how cities and towns will collect fines issued to violators who choose not to pay them.”We want to make it as clear as possible what the officers’ rights are,” Suslak said. “One of the flaws of Question 2 is what exactly officers can do if they see someone smoking in public.”If the ordinance were passed, it would be illegal for someone to smoke weed in the following places: streets, sidewalks, public ways, footways, passageways, public buildings, school property, beaches, recreation areas, cemeteries, parking lots, public buses or other passenger conveyance operated by a common carrier, or “any area owned by or under control of the City of Lynn? or in any place accessible to the public,” according to wording of the proposal.The proposed ordinance would also increase fines to $300 for each marijuana offense within the city – an amount Revere is also considering for the same offense. The state law currently requires a $100 fine.Suslak told the committee that he plans to help film a television program on Lynn Community Access Television to educate residents on what the new marijuana laws mean.”It’s important to make clear decriminalization is not the same as legalization,” he said. “That subtle difference is not always clear to people.”