• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • NEWS+OPINIONS
    • NEWS TO US
    • COLUMNS
      • APPARENT HORIZON
      • DEAR READER
      • Close
    • LONGFORM FEATURES
    • OPINIONS
    • EDITORIAL
    • Close
  • ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
    • FILM
    • MUSIC
    • COMEDY
    • PERFORMING ARTS
    • VISUAL ARTS
    • Close
  • DINING+DRINKING
    • EATS
    • SIPS
    • BOSTON BETTER BEER BUREAU
    • Close
  • LIFESTYLE
    • CANNABIS
      • TALKING JOINTS MEMO
      • Close
    • WELLNESS
    • GTFO
    • Close
  • STUFF TO DO
  • TICKETS
  • ABOUT US
    • ABOUT
    • MASTHEAD
    • ADVERTISE
    • Close
  • BECOME A MEMBER

Dig Bos

The Dig - Boston's Only Newspaper

MASSCANN/NORML PICKS A FEW FIGHTS

Written by ANDY GAUS Posted May 10, 2017 Filed Under: COLUMNS, NEWS+OPINIONS, The Tokin' Truth

 

What do you do if you’re a doctor on a battlefield of broken bodies? You ignore those who will probably live and those who will probably die and concentrate on those who could go either way. It’s called triage.

 

In the spirit of triage, the officers of cannabis advocacy group MassCann/NORML recently met with two lobbyists who are currently working on assignment for them, Jack Hall and Tara Zeltner, in an effort to focus on a small number of issues where our efforts could make the most difference in the next few weeks, when many possible changes to the current marijuana law may be decided on. We emerged with four key provisions:

 

  • The state Department of Agriculture should oversee everything about cultivation till the marijuana or hemp leaves the farm. Cannabis is a plant, and at the ag department they know about plants.

 

  • Medical dispensaries must be allowed to open as recreational outlets promptly on July 1, 2018, or else we’ll have about three stores open when Trump seeks reelection.

 

  • Employers must treat marijuana use like alcohol use. Marijuana users aren’t criminals and mustn’t be treated like criminals.

 

  • Previous convictions for nonviolent marijuana offenses should be not just sealed, but expunged. This is important, not just as a matter of decency, but to make sure the cannabis industry isn’t exclusively reserved to those who have never had anything to do with marijuana.

 

Some important issues aren’t represented here. Homegrow is a crucial issue, but the current 12-plant limit seems unlikely to be reduced, while the prospect of expanding the limit or lifting it altogether appears dead, at least for this session. Sen. Rosenberg’s proposal to raise the minimum age from 21 to 25 is a monstrous idea, but thankfully it also appears to be stillborn.

 

What you can do: visit DefendQuestion4.org to find your state rep and senator. Email them to express your concerns. Even better, call the office and speak with a staffer (briefly and politely). Your stories can be powerful, particularly if you have had trouble finding work or housing because of a marijuana conviction or marijuana use. Your legislators also need to hear from you if you’re a farmer and would like to grow marijuana or hemp. Remember that if a state legislator hears from four or five constituents about an issue, that’s a flood of voter concern. So make yourself a raging current that flows irresistibly onward. If enough people do so, it will be hard for even the Massachusetts legislature to make freedom paddle backwards.

 

Andy Gaus is a Massachusetts-based cannabis advocate and a member of MassCann-NORML.

Author profile
ANDY GAUS

Andy Gaus is a longtime cannabis advocate and a member of MassCann.

Related posts
  • ANDY GAUS
    https://digboston.com/author/andy-gaus/
    CANNABIS GROWER THE FIRST IN HIS PRISON TO TEST POSITIVE FOR COVID-19
  • ANDY GAUS
    https://digboston.com/author/andy-gaus/
    FOLLOW-UP: STILL JAILED FOR GROWING
  • ANDY GAUS
    https://digboston.com/author/andy-gaus/
    JAILED FOR A MEDICAL GROW
  • ANDY GAUS
    https://digboston.com/author/andy-gaus/
    RESCUING LEFTOVER CUISINE: STANDING BETWEEN FOOD AND THE DUMPSTER

Filed Under: COLUMNS, NEWS+OPINIONS, The Tokin' Truth Tagged With: Beacon Hill, cannabis, Commonwealth, Joint Committee on Marijuana Policy, legalization, Marijuana, Massachusetts, prohibitionists, question 4, State House

WHAT’S NEW

Governor’s Council Weighs Controversial Parole Board Renomination

Governor’s Council Weighs Controversial Parole Board Renomination

Bay State Gas Providers Pay Up

Bay State Gas Providers Pay Up

State Wire: Mass Needs to Reform Youth Restitution Policies

State Wire: Mass Needs to Reform Youth Restitution Policies

“Pie” by Eric Ferdinand is licensed under CC-BY 2.0

Share and Share Alike: Major Funders Need to Give Equally to All Nonprofit News Outlets

The T Will Stay Broken Because Poor and Working People Are Seen As Expendable 

The T Will Stay Broken Because Poor and Working People Are Seen As Expendable 

Davis Square Developer Plans Lab Space As Small Businesses Await Unknown Fate

Davis Square Developer Plans Lab Space As Small Businesses Await Unknown Fate

Primary Sidebar

Advertisement

FEATURED EVENT

Advertisement

Most Popular

  • Meet the Phantom Behind Greater Boston’s Awesome Food Feed Everybody Gotta Eat
  • The T Will Stay Broken Because Poor and Working People Are Seen As Expendable 
  • Inside the Bay State’s Legendary (and Only) One-Man Brewery
  • Boston Gets Police Commissioner Who Bad Cops Likely Loathe. Let’s See How This Goes
  • Worcester’s Wasteful, Never-Ending War on Police Transparency

Footer

Social Buttons

DigBoston facebook DigBoston Twitter DigBoston Instagram

Masthead

About

Advertise

Customer Service

About Us

DigBoston is a one-stop nexus for everything worth doing or knowing in the Boston area. It's an alt-weekly, it's a website, it's an e-mail blast, it's a twitter account, it's that cool party that you were at last night ... hey, you're reading it, so it's gotta be good. For advertising inquiries: [email protected] To reach Editorial (and for inquiries about internship opportunities): [email protected]