IN NOVEMBER, MASSACHUSETTS voters chose to move our state’s drug policy into the 21st century by rejecting the failed War on Drugs and becoming the first state in the Eastern half of the country to legalize cannabis. Now, the Legislature is considering a bill which would reintroduce some of the same regressive principles that voters […]
Marijuana
Posted inOpinion, Politics
For marijuana law, now the ‘Grown-Up’s Hour’
MANY OF US have listened to Longfellow’s poem that reminds us that there “Comes a pause in the day’s occupations, that is known as the Children’s Hour.” Now that democracy has worked its magic in Massachusetts with the legalization of recreational use of marijuana, I suggest it is time for the Grown-Up’s Hour when it […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
The shock heard ‘round the world
DONALD TRUMP WAS elected president, upending the expectations set by virtually every poll going into Tuesday’s election. He won despite alienating and attacking everyone from Hispanics to Gold Star families, calling war hero (and fellow Republican) John McCain a loser, and boasting of his celebrity-fueled ability to grab women’s genitals at will. None of it […]
Posted inThe Download
The Codcast: Smoke and mirrors
Both sides of the debate over the ballot question to legalize adult recreational use of marijuana are running television ads in the final weeks of the campaign and it’s safe to say neither will be awarded points for honesty. The Campaign for a Safe and Healthy Massachusetts, the group started with the backing of Gov. […]
Posted inTransportation
AAA says marijuana OUI laws useless
THE RESEARCH ARM of AAA says states that set legal limits for marijuana driving impairment have no scientific basis for the standards and urged a national effort to adopt uniform tests to ensure road safety. “Legal limits for marijuana and driving are arbitrary and unsupported by science, which could result in unsafe motorists going free […]
Posted inDrug Addiction, The Back Story
The gateway debate over marijuana
CHRIS LOWE, A 41-year-old carpenter on Martha’s Vineyard, has smoked pot since his early 20s, both legally and illegally. When he lived in Montana, he had a certificate to grow, sell, and use medical marijuana until the state changed its laws. He says he qualifies for medical marijuana in Massachusetts, but doesn’t bother because the bureaucracy […]
Posted inThe Download
On weed, let’s stick to the facts
Facts are in short supply in the increasingly polarized debate over legalizing marijuana, which is why Jack Sullivan’s piece today in CommonWealth is refreshing. The article suggests the inability of law enforcement officials to test for marijuana impairment is a real problem, but also points to studies indicating a marijuana high isn’t the same as […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, The Download
Bipartisan buzzkill
After the struggle to get medical marijuana off the ground, did anyone really think there would be little institutional resistance to legalizing recreational use and commercial sale of pot? Gov. Charlie Baker, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, and House Speaker Robert DeLeo are set to bring their considerable fundraising skills and estimable offices to the battle […]
Posted inDrug Addiction, State House News Service
Lawmakers hear testimony on pot legalization
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Activists in favor of the legalization of the adult use of marijuana squared off Monday with law enforcement officials and legislators in what one activist called “the eruption, at long last, of the first-ever public debate about marijuana in Massachusetts.” The Joint Committee on the Judiciary heard testimony on the statutory […]