Some Massachusetts towns going to pot, after all

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press


Bob Salsberg, Associated Press
 Updated 12:08 pm, Sunday, November 19, 2017

BOSTON (AP) — They may not be mad about reefer, but a growing number of Massachusetts communities are leaving their borders open to commercial marijuana businesses, bucking a wave of bans and moratoriums that followed voter approval of legal recreational pot.

Recent votes in several cities and towns against prohibitions on pot shops have cheered advocates for the nascent cannabis industry who say it could signal that communities around the state are slowly concluding that potential benefits, including a boost in tax revenues and the driving out of illegal dealers, outweigh the drawbacks of welcoming such businesses to town.
 
"We got a lot of support from people who don't use cannabis, but might want to someday," said Scott Winters, a resident of Amesbury who spearheaded opposition to an anti-pot referendum that was defeated by a nearly 2-1 margin Nov. 7. "From users to non-users to just folks who want revenue for the city, we had a lot of support."
 
Town meetings in Dracut, Marshfield and the Cape Cod town of Brewster have also turned aside bans in recent weeks. The votes in Marshfield and Brewster were notable for having occurred in towns where a majority of residents voted against the legalization question on last November's state ballot.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Some-Massachusetts-towns-going-to-pot-after-all-12369265.php

[sandensea]

1. Meanwhile, GOP lushes are carving out a tax giveaway to liquor makers - which kill 88,000 a year

Funny how this never seems to bother these law-and-order types. Why is that?

[getagrip_already]

2. lots of towns are opting out though....

A number of the towns in metro-west/central have opted out. It is very much a nimby driven effort, with a lot of very backward looking ass-hats claiming gv't propaganda lines from the 30's.

It was decriminalyzed 5+ years ago and the world didn't end. Medical was approved 3+ years ago and the world didn't end. Rec was approved last year and the world hasn't ended.

Yet, while rec cannabis is legal to posess, consume, gift, and even grow, you can't legally buy it for recreational use. You can't even buy seeds legally for rec use.

But people are still "outraged" that kids might somehow get it, or that they will mistake edible candies for treats and od (nobody has ever died from a cannabis od).

So what we have is a legal product, that you can't buy. My town has gun stores that will sell a gun to anyone with a fid. We have liquor stores that will sell to anyone over 21. We have pharmacies that will sell powerful opiods to anyone with a prescription. But we can't have a retail store that will sell legal cannabis; med is also banned.

The difference is that the first three products can kill or mame you, both mentally and physically, for life. Cannabis won't.

People are so stupid, it hurts.

[diverdownjt]

3. Maybe we could use these towns...

as models of how to re-purpose unemployed coal miners and the like into a new
growing industry...pun intended.