It’s safe to say that many marijuana advocates in the state of Massachusetts have not been happy about a bill rewrite. A bill was supposed to be unveiled on Wednesday that would double the existing tax rate on adult-use cannabis.
The state’s voter approved cannabis law rewrite was suddenly pulled tonight however, just hours before it was supposed to be debated by the full House. The bill had been getting a lot of heat from voters and marijuana advocates who said the rewrite would go against what Massuchusetts voters had voted for in the past election.
Speaker Robert DeLeo didn’t really explain why it was pulled but said “procedural issues” and “certain things we have to clear up,” were some issues.
Almost 54% of the vote was for last November’s Question 4 ballot initiative in Massachusetts, that legalized recreational marijuana, garnered nearly 54% of the vote. It had set the tax rate at 12%.
According to the bill’s author, Rep. Mark J. Cusack (D) of Braintree, who spoke to the Boston Globe, “The voters voted to allow people 21 years of age and above to be able to access a regulated and safe marketplace. That is exactly what this bill does.”
“The ballot question is fundamentally flawed. It needs to be improved, and that’s what this committee’s charge has been — to work through the different issues and come up with the best system possible for the consumer and the Commonwealth.”
