"Oh marijuana.

A gift of God to my brothers and me.

Oh marijuana

Now the government wants to test me when I pee."

- Brian Robbins Band

Well, that is apparently no longer the case with the New London government. In his first full day in office, Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio issued four executive orders, two requiring a more tolerant attitude toward the use of marijuana.

The new mayor directed his police officers not to issue an infraction for possession of marijuana on private property unless receiving a complaint from the property owner. The same order protects officers from being disciplined for failing to pursue someone taking an illicit toke.

Another order states that the city will not discipline most city workers who test positive for marijuana on random drug tests. Still subject to punishment are emergency personnel (police and fire) and workers whose jobs require commercial driver's licenses.

The policy shifts make logical sense. With state law now treating possession of small amounts of marijuana as an infraction akin to a traffic ticket, law enforcement officers probably have more important matters to attend to than pursuing the source of pungent smoke wafting from a backyard party. We rather doubt this was a big priority for police in any event.

Likewise, we agree with the mayor that there is not much logic in suspending or firing a good employee because a urine test indicates she at some point in the past month or so smoked weed. Would anyone agree it was OK to discipline a secretary for getting a speeding ticket on her own time?

We question the necessity to make such a grand gesture as executive orders, however. A discussion with the personnel director and police chief and a slight shift in policy could achieve the same result. Acting on the first day also elevates these matters to a higher level than they deserve. Mayor Finizio said he knew they could prove controversial and wanted to address them quickly and get it done with.

The mayor also issued an executive order prohibiting racial profiling by city police. This only reinforces existing state law and police policy, but it probably does send a comforting message to the minority communities. So too will the order that police shall not inquire into the immigration status of individuals they come in contact with, unless it pertains to a criminal investigation. From our understanding this has also been the practice.

Mayor Finizio said the orders fulfill pledges he made on the campaign trail. Given this start, we suspect few dull moments with this administration.