Pubdate: Tue, 06 Mar 2012
Source: Herald News, The (Fall River, MA)
Copyright: 2012 The Herald News
Contact:  http://www.heraldnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3604

BILL TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS GETS HEARING ON BEACON HILL

BOSTON - The Cannabis Regulation and Taxation Act, proposed more than
a year ago by Reps. Ellen Story (D-Amherst), Ruth Balser (D-Newton),
Lori Ehrlich (D-Marblehead), and Ann Gobi (D-Spencer), finally gets a
hearing Tuesday afternoon before the Judiciary Committee, which will
have just two weeks to make a recommendation on it before the biennial
bill-reporting deadline.

The bill (H 1371) creates industry licensing, regulation and taxation
standards, and establishes a Cannabis Control Authority comprised of
seven members and with an initial appropriation of $2.5 million. It
leaves in place penalties for driving under the influence of marijuana.

The bill's preamble states that the legislation acknowledges that "100
years of criminalization in Massachusetts has failed to stop the
production, distribution and use of marihuana, and that sustained
enforcement efforts cannot reasonably be expected to accomplish that
goal."

It states that the bill seeks to "eliminate prohibition-related crime
and to raise new tax revenue" while "promoting new jobs and industries
in commercial cannabis and hemp" and "respecting the personal autonomy
of adults, where freedom supposes responsibility."

The Massachusetts Family Institute on Monday signaled its opposition
to the bill in an email. "Marijuana is a mind-altering drug that is
almost always the gateway to other drug abuse," the institute wrote in
its email.

"Legalization WILL lead to its proliferation, especially to minors,
and WILL lead to more impaired drivers on the roads."

The Judiciary Committee plans a 1 p.m. hearing on the bill Tuesday.
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MAP posted-by: Matt