Behind closed doors, Massachusetts lawmakers are scrambling to change the new marijuana law. The main questions are how many changes they plan to make and how big they go in overhauling or tweaking the voter-approved law.
A team of negotiators from the Massachusetts House and Senate has been meeting on Beacon Hill this week to come up with a final bill and send it to Gov. Charlie Baker’s desk.
Even before 1.8 million voters approved the new law broadly legalizing recreational marijuana in Massachusetts, state lawmakers said they planned to make changes to the proposal, which was written by legalization advocates.
What we’ve seen is a divide in which changes they want to make.
The Massachusetts House approved a bill that essentially repeals and replaces the voter-approved law, while the Massachusetts Senate wants to tweak the new law. Legalization advocates prefer the Senate version and have harshly criticized the House version.
Here’s a look at the proposed changes.
The tax
The Massachusetts House has proposed a 28 percent tax on marijuana products.
The Massachusetts Senate wants a 12 percent tax, which is what the voters approved.
