Massachusetts Lawmakers Delay Start of Legal Marijuana Sales

Massachusetts Lawmakers Delay Start of Legal Marijuana Sales

BOSTON, MA Lawmakers in Massachusetts wasted no time in meddling with a referendum passed by voters in November to legalize recreational marijuana for adults, passing legislation Wednesday to delaythe start of a retail cannabis market by several months.

Home cultivation and personal possession of marijuana by adults 21 or older became legal on December 15, but thanks to Beacon Hill lawmakers, the black market will continue to thrive as the state works to delay full implementation of the law.

Both chambers of the state legislature passed a bill on Wednesday delaying the opening of retail sales of marijuana from January 2018 until July. It took less than an hour for the measure to sail through both the House and Senate, according to local media reports.

The bill, Senate Bill 2524, was introduced in the Senate bySen. Jason Lewis(D-Winchester), whochaired a special legislative committee on marijuana legalization when it seemed eminent that the referendum, which passed as Question 4 on the November ballot, would be approved.

I am opposed to the likely ballot question because this is the wrong time for Massachusetts to go down this road, and a commercial, profit-driven market is the wrong approach to take, Lewis told the Boston Globe in March.

The bill, which will likely be signed quickly by Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican who is opposed to legalization, adds six months to every date carefully outlined in the text of the ballot measure. Retail sales, which were expected to start in January 2018, will now begin in July. Other dates were also changed, including deadlines for rule-making and licensing.

The bill was passed during an informal session, with very few lawmakers in attendance. No roll call vote was recorded, but the Boston Globe reports that only two state senators were present to approve the measure Senate President Stanley C. Rosenberg and Republican Minority Leader Bruce Tarr passage of theproposal took less than a minute.

Less than an hour later, the measure was before the House, where it passed in seconds, according to the Globe, with less than half a dozen members present. Because the regular legislative session has already ended, the bill was taken up during informal sessions, where no role call vote is recorded and bills can only pass if no lawmaker objects.

Lawmakers say they passed the bill to themtime to improve the ballot question, take up issues not addressed by the ballot question and allow the state more time to implement the will of the voters.

The legislature has a responsibility to implement the will of the voters while also protecting public health and public safety, Senate President Stanley Rosenberg said in a statement. This short delay will allow the necessary time for the Legislature to work with stakeholders on improving the new law. Luckily, we are in a position where we can learn from the experiences of other states to implement the most responsible recreational marijuana law in the country.

Our goal has always been to make sure that the intent of the voters is carried out, House Speaker Robert DeLeo said in a statement. The delay will allow the committee process to work through the laws complicated implications and provide a process by which we can strengthen, refine and improve it.

Supporters of the ballot measure say lawmakers are missing the point of legalization taking sales off of the black market and putting them under state control.

We are very disappointed that the Legislature has decided to alter Question 4 in an informal session with very little notice regarding proposed changes, said Jim Borghesani, spokesperson for the Yes on 4 campaign, noting that the ballot measure was carefully written with careful consideration regarding process and timelines so that the state legislature wouldnt need to interfere or make changes to the law.

Erik Altieri, Executive Director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) called lawmakers decision a slap in the face to the nearly two million Massachusetts voters who cast votes in favor of legalizationon Election Day.

The arrogance and hubris lawmakers are ...

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