Democratic lawmakers have been tabbed to re-write Massachusetts’ adult-use cannabis law, in what could be another setback for the initiative approved by voters last November. According to a WWLP report, the House and Senate Committee on Marijuana Policy aims to make significant changes to the law, due to concerns about public safety, the tax structure, and the number of plants allowed in home grows.
State Sen. Pat Jehlen, a supporter of legalized cannabis, will work with House vice-chairman Rep. David M. Rogers, Senate vice-chairman Sen. Jason M. Lewis, and Rep. Mark Cusack on re-writing the law. Cusack has not taken a public position on the issue but said in an interview with the Boston Globe that he would follow the will of the voters.
“I think the will of the voters is they wanted recreational marijuana, not that they sat there and read every word of the ballot measure before they voted for it,” he said in the interview. “It was really: Do you want it or do you not?”
Jehlen said the committee would seek out experts from other states with adult-use markets, and hold hearings throughout the state.
“I don’t think the voters were expressing deep engagement with every single sentence,” she said. “But I think the concept of allowing people to own and use and grow marijuana legally, that is what is our mandate, to protect that.”
The committee is expected to provide their recommendations to Republican Gov. Charlie Baker – who opposed the measure – by June.