ATTORNEY GENERAL JEFF SESSIONS has thrown the emerging legal marijuana industry into turmoil by rescinding an Obama-era memorandum that ordered the Justice Department to ignore enforcing federal drug laws in states that allowed adult use. Sessions, a longtime opponent of legalizing marijuana who often tied it to the opioid crisis, issued a new guidance that […]
Medical marijuana
Posted inPolitics
Amazon vs. marijuana
WHEN A CHICOPEE woman won the record-setting Powerball jackpot in August, lost in the cacophony were the two $1 million winning tickets sold in Dorchester and Watertown. Despite the disappointment of not hitting the big one, neither winner said “no, thanks” to the lesser sums. But that appears to be what’s happening in Massachusetts with […]
Posted inPolitics
Islanders want their pot, too
THE “LISTENING TOUR” by the board charged with regulating the state’s emerging marijuana industry landed on Martha’s Vineyard Tuesday, where the two members heard pleas from pro-pot advocates to help their island as well as Nantucket steer clear of the federal obstacles no other communities in Massachusetts face. About 70 people crowded into the West […]
Posted inPolitics
Lawmakers reach pot compromise
FIRE UP THE SMOKING lamp. House and Senate negotiators finally reached a compromise on amending the voter-approved law legalizing marijuana in Massachusetts, agreeing to levy a tax of up to 20 percent and approving a different process to implement bans or restrictions based on election results from last November. “Compromise means you get some of what […]
Posted inPolitics
Cusack denies retaliation over Lottery move
THE HOUSE CHAIR of the Legislature’s marijuana committee denied that his ire at State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg over a potential Lottery headquarters move out of his hometown was connected to his push to remove control of the impending marijuana industry from her office. “It’s not about any one person, but it’s the simple premise that […]
Posted inHealth Care, Politics
House guts voter-approved pot law
THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE will unveil a measure Wednesday that completely overhauls the voter-approved referendum legalizing recreational marijuana while also moving oversight of medical marijuana under the same regulatory umbrella. About the only thing the 48-page bill, a copy of which was obtained by CommonWealth, leaves in place from the question put before voters last November […]
Posted inEconomy
Holyoke’s mayor isn’t afraid of pot
Photographs by Mark Morelli OUTSIDE HOLYOKE CITY HALL is a stone fountain that once gurgled with water, offering a more wholesome substitute for alcohol to “a thirsty humanity,” as the inscription reads. Erected in 1901, the monument was one of several put up by the Women’s Christian Temperance Union around the country as part of […]
Posted inEconomy
Banking on the pot industry
AT LEAST ONE Massachusetts bank is offering services to the nascent legal marijuana industry in the state despite uncertainty over federal drug and banking regulations that still classify all pot sales as money-laundering, making it a risky venture both for the businesses and financial institutions. According to marijuana and banking industry officials, family-owned Century Bank […]
Posted inPolitics
Pot opponents mislead on costs, local aid threat
LT. GOV. KARYN POLITO suggested earlier this week that passage of the ballot question legalizing recreational marijuana could lead to a reduction in local aid to pay for regulating the new industry and public safety costs, but there is little evidence to support her claim. At a meeting of the Local Government Advisory Commission on Tuesday, […]
Posted inDrug Addiction, Politics, State House News Service
Pot campaign bashed for appeal
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A FUNDRAISING APPEAL from the marijuana legalization campaign has drawn the ire of health care professionals and parents of children who died from opioid addiction after the group pitched legal marijuana as an alternative to prescription pain drugs in spite of the state’s medical marijuana program. Will Luzier, the campaign manager […]