While the opioid epidemic is the most glaring effect, it’s certainly not the only symptom of our societal malaise. Things are getting worse across the board—suicide, homelessness, mass incarceration, ecological disaster. Taken together, all of these factors are making life in 21st century America increasingly untenable.
SPECIAL FEATURE: MORE DYSFUNCTION THAN DIVERSITY
Who oversees parole in Mass? What motivates decisions? Does the outcome help the Commonwealth? Will the addition of another career prosecutor tilt the Mass parole board away from second chances?
FREEDOM TO REPORT: IMMIGRANT ABUSE SURVIVORS ADVOCATE FOR SAFE COMMUNITIES ACT
“A lot of people pay attention to the border, but you don’t have to look at just the border to see families being separated,” Miranda said. “We need Massachusetts residents to wake up and understand that separating and fear is being handed out right here.”
THE KID FROM HAVERHILL
Andy Vargas, the first Latino state rep from Haverhill, aims to be the kind of elected role model he couldn’t find as a kid
ROE IN MASS: HEARING CHOICES
Abortion advocates and adversaries crowd hallways on Beacon Hill
ROE IN MASS: ‘DON’T FEEL COMFORTABLE’
Mass leaders speak on the threat to a woman’s right to choose: “Yes, we’re first in the nation, and we really have always been. And I would hope that Massachusetts would be sort of a light unto these other states that have taken a different direction. Because I think that history is on our side, this is the right thing to do.”
IHSSANE LECKEY BUILDS THE CASE FOR HER CAMPAIGN, AND FOR THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE
“For me, my story and why I’m running are so intertwined. My story is that I’m a survivor, I’m an immigrant, I’m a Wall Street regulator, I’m a mother,” she says. These experiences “compelled” her, to use her word, to run for office.
GREEN DREAM: THE ATTEMPT TO BRING A CROWD-FUNDED CANNABIS COLLABORATIVE TO SOMERVILLE
The Harvest Collaborative is currently a joint venture between Chris Vining and Alex Coon, but if things go per their vision, they will potentially have hundreds of area partners who together own 50% of the dispensary that they hope to open.
F.I.G.H.T. SUBOXONE: REAL TALK ABOUT MEDICATION-ASSISTED TREATMENT
I got people telling me, “Yes, I’m in recovery, but who the fuck are you to tell somebody how they should recover? Who the fuck are you to tell somebody that they aren’t in recovery because they are on medication?” And I’m like, “Because they’re fucking not! What the fuck are you talking about?”
EDIBLE DERANGEMENT: AS STATE SEEKS SOLUTIONS, BOSTON FORMALIZES GRUDGE AGAINST CANNABIS DINING
Any infused food event at a licensed premise—whether or not it is open to the public, and whether alcohol is consumed or not—is illegal, the advisory states, and violators “will be subject to disciplinary action” including a suspension or revocation of their license.
