I believe that there are three major reforms that we need to pursue in Massachusetts drug policy: (1) moderation of our sentencing policies; (2) improvement of substance abuse treatment quality; (3) expansion of screening and brief intervention.
Justice
animal welfare, civil law and procedure, criminal law, disability, drug policy, family law, freedom of speech, guardianship, gun violence, housing law, immigration, indigenous agenda, lgbtq rights, policing, privacy, sexual child abuse, terrorism, women's rights
Coerced drug treatment — perspective
Coerced treatment has great appeal for parents, judge and prosecutors. But, now that it has become widespread, it is damaging the treatment system and making all treatment less effective.
Gender confusion
The house voted today on a pair of gender-related bills that generated a debate full of passion, confusion and irony. I was in the majority on all three of major votes, but split from some of my friends on two of them.
A Woman’s Right to Choose
I support a woman’s right to choose. The government should not interfere in the most deeply personal decisions in our lives. Prevention is the top priority. We should do all that we can to reduce unintended pregnancy. Broad legal access to contraception is critical to helping women out of poverty. Teen pregnancy is one of …
The Death Penalty
I oppose the death penalty and have voted against its reinstitution in Massachusetts The death penalty wouldn’t make Massachusetts one bit safer. People who commit awful crimes are uniformly people who have little regard for the consequences of their actions — they will not be deterred by the threat of death. Also, as an experienced …
Drug policy — part I
Why do we send people to jail because of their addiction, when
treatment would be much less expensive?