Last modified: Thursday, July 10, 2008 1:52 AM EDT DA: Slaying is proof of danger of drugs BY DAVID LINTON SUN CHRONICLE STAFF MANSFIELD - One local family is getting ready to bury their teenaged son and another local family faces the prospect their teenage son will go to prison for the rest of his life for murder. All over three-quarters of a pound of marijuana worth about $750, authorities allege. "In 10 years' time, who knows where the young men involved in this matter would have been. A profession, a trade, a solid job. We'll never know," Police Chief Arthur O'Neill said during a news conference Wednesday. O'Neill said the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Andrew Colwell, allegedly by Mark Hayden, 19, was a tragedy for both families, and a sad chapter for the town. Prosecutors say Hayden fatally shot Colwell once in the head with a small caliber handgun as they sat in a parked Jeep at Edgewood Condominiums Monday night. He then stole the marijuana Colwell and a friend were planning to sell him before running off, prosecutors said Wednesday. "The lure of easy money, the thrill of an illicit deal. Whatever got them to this point is a tragedy, and this town is poorer for it," O'Neill said. "It's all about choices and, in this case, the wrong choices were made." Bristol County District Attorney Sam Sutter said he was not surprised there was a murder in a quiet suburb over a small amount of marijuana. "Of the nine murders in Bristol County this year," Sutter said, "four have been over marijuana. Based on what I have seen in Bristol County this year, violence around marijuana is beginning to parallel what we see with cocaine and heroin." He said the image of marijuana as a harmless drug is not accurate and urged residents to oppose efforts at the Statehouse to decriminalize the drug. "It's a nationwide problem. It's not just a Mansfield problem. It's not just a Bristol County problem. It's not just a state problem," Sutter said. Marijuana is the most used illicit drug and nationwide studies have indicated 25 million Americans age 12 and over have used marijuana at least once in 2006, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Although law enforcement officials say marijuana use is the drug of choice and still a problem, national studies say its use among high school-age youth and young adults has stabilized or declined. Annual prevalence of marijuana use has fallen by 33 percent among eighth-graders, 25 percent among 10th-graders, and 14 percent among 12th-graders since 2001, according to the NIDA. In Massachusetts, a statewide ballot initiative and proposed legislation are pending to reform laws regarding the possession of small amounts of marijuana. While they differ in the details, according to Massachusetts Cannabis Coalition, both will make possession of small amounts (less than an ounce) a civil offense punishable by a fine rather than a criminal offense in which some people can be sent to jail. But Sutter, who came to office last year on a platform to crack down on drug and gun violence, said efforts to decriminalize marijuana is "a bad idea." "Just look at all the violence that it has led to," Sutter said. DAVID LINTON can be reached at 508-236-338 or at dlinton@thesunchronicle.com.