After several years of ceding marijuana policy-making to a voting public eager to adopt a more permissive approach to the once completely illegal drug, House lawmakers on Wednesday took the reins of the sticky issue, passing a bill to overhaul how the state will regulate the retail market of the intoxicant. The legislation approved 126-28 […]
Massachusetts
Recreational Marijuana in Massachusetts Is Ready to Take Off
BOSTON – Massachusetts already has one of the highest-performing economies in America according to recent surveys, along with the best unemployment rate in 16 years. So how can things get better? The emergence of a new industry – devoted to legalization of marijuana. The decision by Massachusetts voters to legalize the use of recreational marijuana […]
Massachusetts Legislature Approves $300k for Marijuana Start-Up Costs
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Legislature has approved spending $300,000 for start-up costs to regulate the nascent marijuana industry. But the process could be held up by bureaucratic details. The money was included in a supplemental budget that Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law on Tuesday. However, the money was put in a reserve fund run […]
Many Massachusetts Towns Continue Fight Against Marijuana Retailers
The image of local stores selling recreational pot has residents of some Massachusetts cities and towns calling timeout on part of the voter-passed state law allowing retailers to offer marijuana products. Westborough voters earlier this month approved a ban blocking retailers from selling pot for recreational use, Southborough is considering a ban of its own, […]
Legal Marijuana Could Produce $100 Million in Annual Taxes for Massachusetts
State revenue officials predicted taxes on marijuana could eventually bring in more than $100 million each year. The attorney general’s office encouraged lawmakers to clarify how cities and towns can prohibit pot stores. And a long bearded man argued that bills to adjust the state’s new marijuana law are “essentially shredding the will of the […]
What Happens When You Try to Fly out of a State With Legal Marijuana?
Say you smoke pot. And you’re flying from Logan to LA or Las Vegas or Nantucket — all places where recreational marijuana is legal. And, just hypothetically of course, you’ve got some weed and want to take it with you on your flight. Can you? The confounding, Kafka-esque answer— made possible last fall, when Massachusetts […]
Massachusetts Marijuana Laws Could See Massive Changes Over the Next Two Years
Voters on Election Day chose to legalize recreational marijuana by a seven-point majority. But now the ultimate fate of the vote is in the Legislature’s hands. Given some of the bills filed by the deadline last Friday, it could change dramatically. Over the next two years, legislators will have the option of signing into law […]
4 Things Massachusetts Lawmakers May Be Considering as They Delay Recreational Marijuana Laws
Legislative leaders have made clear they are not through with making changes to the voter-approved recreational Massachusetts marijuana initiative, but it remains to be seen whether future action amounts to an overhaul of or a mere tinkering with the new law. A committee of House and Senate lawmakers will soon be named to consider potential […]
Rhode Island Wants to Begin Marijuana Sales Before Massachusetts
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Trying to beat Massachusetts to the punch, marijuana-legalization advocates on Wednesday unveiled a proposal that would allow recreational pot shops to open in Rhode Island before any will be allowed to conduct sales in the Bay State. While the opening of Massachusetts pot shops has been delayed by lawmakers until July 2018, […]
Lacking Options, Marijuana Home Growers on the Rise in Massachusetts
FOXBOROUGH – At Harvest Moon Hydroponics, a shiny tent in the window holds everything a budding indoor gardener might need. Dangling from the top, a fluorescent light fixture shines down on a collection of young plants. An instrument lying on the floor measures the temperature and humidity. A small fan whirs away in the corner, […]
