Compromise: Massachusetts Pot Sales Start July 2018
Lawmakers reach compromise on recreational cannabis in Massachusetts.
After numerous missed deadlines, the legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has reached an agreement on how deep they will cut into Question 4, last Novembers successful ballot initiative legalizing recreational cannabis.
Beacon Hill and Boston City Hall had been the centers of dissent around Question 4 long before election day with Governor Charlie Baker alongside Boston Mayor and former union hobnobber Marty Walsh leading the charge. Now down the hall from Bakers office, officials have come together to create something that resembles what voters passed more closely than recent attempts to chop up the law even further.
After weeks of intense advocacy from Massachusetts voters, legislators have decided to respect the will of the people, said Matthew Schweich, director of state campaigns for the Marijuana Policy Project and one of the leaders of the 2016 campaign. We are relieved that the legislature has dropped the Houses repeal and replace bill introduced last month, which would have made damaging changes to the law.
According to a statement released by Question 4s backers when word of the compromise dropped today, the bills most significant changes relate to local control and taxes. The legislation adjusts the local control policy, allowing government officials in towns that voted no on the 2016 ballot initiative to ban marijuana businesses until December 2019.
More interesting is what it did for towns that voted yes in 2016, any bans must be placed on a local ballot for voters to approve. Meaning just because a municipality might have an old school city hall run by people nuns hit with rulers back in the day, they wont be able to block the will of the voters and hence the industry.
The maximum sales tax rate will increase from 12 to 20 percent. Under the bill, the state tax will be 17 percent and the local option will be 3 percent. The state house had long been expected to increase the tax rate, with the Boston Globe calling for it last October before the industry could hire lobbyists.
The law passed by voters was well-crafted and required no alteration, said Schweich. However, we respect the need for compromise, and while we dont approve of every provision of this bill, we are satisfied that the outcome will serve the interests of Massachusetts residents and allow the Commonwealth to displace the unregulated marijuana market with a system of taxation and regulation.
June saw the House and Senate pass very different plans for the implementation of Question 4 before entering a conference committee to resolve all their differences. The state budget then through another wrench into the mix when officials decided to halt the resolution of the two bills in order to get that done. During this, Massachusetts residents made over 1,000 telephone calls to their lawmakers urging rejection of the House approach, while advocacy organizations put additional pressure on the legislature.
We commend the Senate for holding the line on a number of important issues, said Jim Borghesani, spokesperson for the 2016 Yes on 4 campaign and the subsequent advocacy effort to defend the law. Now its time to provide funding that will allow the regulators to establish the rules that will govern marijuana cultivation and sales.
The progress in Massachusetts is a huge win for cannabis reform in New England which ...
