Question 4 – Law Street https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com Law and Policy for Our Generation Wed, 13 Nov 2019 21:46:22 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.8 100397344 Massachusetts Might Have to Wait a Little Longer for Legal Marijuana https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/blogs/cannabis-in-america/massachusetts-might-have-to-wait-a-little-longer-for-legal-marijuana/ https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/blogs/cannabis-in-america/massachusetts-might-have-to-wait-a-little-longer-for-legal-marijuana/#respond Tue, 29 Nov 2016 21:22:39 +0000 http://lawstreetmedia.com/?p=57229

The Secretary of State gave it a "50-50" chance of passing on time.

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Image Courtesy of Paul Hudson; License: (CC BY 2.0)

On Monday, Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin signaled that his state’s recently passed recreational marijuana legalization ballot measure, Question 4, could miss its targeted implementation date of December 15. Massachusetts, and seven other states, passed some form of marijuana legalization measures on Election Day, with Bay State voters overwhelmingly in support of a recreational marijuana legalization framework.

The eight-member Governor’s Council needs to sign off on the ballot measure, which 1.7 million people (54 percent) voted for, before it can be implemented. Galvin said he expects the council’s votes to be tallied on December 14, and said it’s a “50-50 proposition” that the law will go into effect, meaning Massachusetts citizens 21 and over can legally possess and use small amounts of pot. Stores will be allowed to start selling marijuana on January 1, 2018, though that date might also get pushed back.

“All those tokers can hold their breath a little longer, but they’ll be able to exhale,” Galvin said, adding that if it’s not passed in two weeks, it will be at the beginning of next year. He said a later than usual election, and the results not being a lock until November 18 were the primary reasons for the potential delay. Confirming the presidential election results are his number one priority, he said, and the work put into that takes precedence over the marijuana measure. “No one is trying to delay the marijuana question deliberately,” he added. “It’s just the presidency of the United States is more important than legalizing marijuana.”

Michael Albano, one of the eight members of the Governor’s Council, told The Boston Globe that he would be surprised if the passed ballot measure does not go into effect on the targeted date. “We meet every week so if it’s not ready on the 30th, we’ll be there on December 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th,” he said. Home cultivation–of up to 12 marijuana plants–is also expected to start on December 15, though that too would be pushed back if the council delays the implementation.

Will Luzier, a lawyer and prominent backer of Question 4, told the Globe he is surprised that there could be a delay, saying: “I would hope that the secretary of state errs on the positive side of that 50-50, and that he and the Governor’s Council would be able to certify given the deadline date.”

Alec Siegel
Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Boston Archdiocese Donates $850,000 to Fight Weed Measure https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/blogs/cannabis-in-america/boston-archdiocese-donates-850k-against-legal-weed/ https://legacy.lawstreetmedia.com/blogs/cannabis-in-america/boston-archdiocese-donates-850k-against-legal-weed/#respond Tue, 01 Nov 2016 20:17:38 +0000 http://lawstreetmedia.com/?p=56586

But is the fight already over?

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Image Courtesy of Roman Catholic Archdiocese Boston's photostream; License: (CC BY-ND 2.0)

The Boston Archdiocese gave an $850,000 donation toward the fight against legalizing marijuana in Massachusetts last Friday. On November 8, voters will weigh in on a ballot measure called Question 4, a proposal that would create a legal framework for recreational marijuana in the state. Massachusetts is one of nine states scheduled to vote on measures legalizing weed in some form, either medically or recreationally.

A spokesman for the archdiocese, Terry Donilon, said the chunk of change “reflects the fact that the archdiocese holds this matter as among the highest priorities,” along with social services like food pantries, health clinics, counseling programs, addiction treatment, housing assistance, and support for immigrants. The donation increased opposition funding by 40 percent, though it does not constitute the largest single donation to date. That honor goes to the billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, who handed over $1 million to the opposition effort a few weeks ago.

Cardinal Sean O’Malley, a close friend of Pope Francis and the leader of the Boston Archdiocese, has repeatedly voiced his opposition to legalizing weed in the Bay State, saying pot “causes people to have problems with memory, problems with reasoning, and other health problems.” He also believes cannabis can be a gateway to more destructive drugs, saying people are “looking for a higher high, so they’ll go onto heroin or cocaine or some other drug that’s even more dangerous.” Many scientists say there is simply not enough evidence to support whether or not marijuana is a gateway drug.

Perhaps it comes as no surprise that the Catholic Church is opposing legalizing recreational marijuana. But what is unusual here is the extracurricular act of donating money to the opposition effort. According to The Atlantic, the Boston Archdiocese lost $20.5 million in operating income from 2014 to 2015. Donilon told The Atlantic that the $850,000 did not come from donations, but rather a “central ministry” fund.

O’Malley is not the only prominent public figure in Boston to oppose the ballot measure. Gov. Charlie Baker (R-MA), Attorney General Maura Healey, and Boston Mayor Martin Walsh wrote an op-ed in March for the Boston Globe, saying “marijuana is not safe.” They continued: “Regular use that starts in adolescence has been shown to impair brain development, shrink school and career outcomes, and even lower IQ.”  

But the latest polls suggest that voters will pass the measure on November 8 anyway. According to a recent Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll, 48.8 percent of respondents said they would vote to legalize recreational marijuana; 42.4 percent said they would not, and 7.8 percent said they were undecided.

Alec Siegel
Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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