A proposal by City Councilor Bill Linehan to add a $300 extra fine for smoking dope in a public park, including the Common, has been referred to the Committee on Government Operations, which is meeting September 10th. If the proposal is favorably voted out of committee, it will go before the full council at a future meeting for a vote.
Probably all of this will not happen before September 14th, but it should be regarded as a serious threat.
You can email all your city councilors at once with a single email address:
city.council@cityofboston.gov
Linehan testified in favor of his proposal that it was a public safety issue. Ask him to explain who is being endangered and how. He has also said that these are the laws the police are telling him they need to do their job. Tell him the police are supposed to enforce the laws, not make them, and that the citizens decided in 2008 that stamping out dopesmoking is NOT the police’s job.