Saying no to decriminalization

Small group of teens launches its own counterprotest downtown.

It didn’t matter to them that there were only a handful of them there. It didn’t matter to them that the occasional person who drove by yelled at them or gave them the finger.

It only mattered to them that they were there, standing Saturday afternoon in Keene’s Central Square, protesting against marijuana use after more than a week of seeing people protest in favor of the drug in that very same spot.

The gatherings in favor of marijuana legalization or decriminalization had drawn dozens upon dozens.

The gatherings against? Five, at most.

“We wanted to show that not everyone here does drugs or is all about smoking marijuana,” said Diana M. Stepka, a 17-year-old from Chesterfield. “I’m pretty proud of what I’m doing. It doesn’t matter how many people are out here.”

Stepka was joined by classmates from Keene High School. They held signs: “It’s Still a Crime,” “Smoke Free Zone,” “Just Say No,” “Hugs Not Drugs” and “It’s Keene to be Smoke Free.”

The pro-marijuana protests were held at 4:20 each afternoon, playing off how the number 420, in the drug culture, represents marijuana smoking.

The pro-marijuana protests produced only one arrest for marijuana possession. A second person was briefly taken into custody but released after police realized he was not smoking marijuana.

At Saturday’s anti-marijuana protest, Stepka and her friends said they felt a need to respond.

“We were pretty disappointed in the way the protests were being held,” Stepka said. “We felt they were disrespectful. Blowing smoke in a policeman’s face, that’s just not right.”

“It’s really wrong that people are smoking marijuana in public,” said Jessica L. Guyette, 17, of Spofford. “It’s illegal. If you do the crime, you should do the time. Nobody is getting punished for their actions. I don’t think it’s fair.”

None of the anti-marijuana protesters described themselves as staunchly against medicinal marijuana. They did not want marijuana decriminalized, however.

“I’ve seen what it does to people,” Guyette said. “Some people just get so caught up. They think it’s so cool. They ruin their lives. They don’t do anything. Nothing becomes of them.”

Over the five hours the anti-marijuana protesters were in Central Square, several passers-by disagreed.

“People have been giving us the middle finger, yelling at us, telling us we’re wrong,” Stepka said.

Later, a man rolled down his window while waiting for a red light to turn green and shouted out, “Laws are arbitrary. Laws change.”

The pro-marijuana protests, including a gathering in the Keene Police Department lobby last Sunday, coincided with — but were not necessarily connected to — Keene City Council discussions about whether to support legalizing medicinal marijuana and decriminalizing minimal possession of the drug — perhaps by making it a violation instead of a misdemeanor.

The city does not have authority to differ from state marijuana laws. The councilors debated sending resolutions to state legislators, who passed a bill in June allowing for medicinal marijuana use, only to see Gov. John H. Lynch veto the bill in July.

Last month, the council decided not to endorse medicinal marijuana legalization — a close vote that required a tiebreaker cast by Mayor Philip Dale Pregent.

Last week, the councilors, recognizing the split among themselves on whether to decriminalize minimal marijuana possession, chose not to speak as one voice, be it in favor or against. Instead, they voted to give their individual perspectives to state lawmakers.

“Everybody’s entitled to a different opinion,” Guyette said. “I’m not saying people who protest for marijuana are bad. I just don’t think they should be smoking marijuana when they do it.”

David Greisman can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1439, or dgreisman@keenesentinel.com