Pot is legal in Massachusetts. What do opposing towns do now?
| Cambridge and Braintree, Mass.
One ride on Boston鈥檚 Red Line subway is enough to span the spectrum of Massachusetts鈥檚 mixed feelings about legalizing recreational marijuana.
In Boston's Harvard Square, where the smell of pot in places wafts through the streets, Cambridge residents are celebrating after passing Referendum 4 last week by an overwhelming majority.
At the southern end of the line in Braintree, a town of 37,000 residents on the South Shore, some are smarting at being forced to allow pot sales starting in 2018 鈥� after they voted against it.
鈥淏ottom line: I couldn鈥檛 figure out what the benefit would be to have this become legal,鈥� says Mayor Joe Sullivan of Braintree, which voted no. 鈥淏ut more importantly than that, as a mayor, I was concerned about what I saw as a deeply flawed referendum question. Whether or not you voted for it, you鈥檙e in.鈥�
Unlike most of the other seven states that have legalized pot, Massachusetts鈥� new law 鈥� one of the most liberal in the country 鈥� doesn鈥檛 just give local communities the right to sell it. It requires them to do so unless they opt out. That鈥檚 a complicated process, and may result in very few towns being able to overturn it.聽
And rightly so, argue proponents, who have expressed frustration that some local leaders have yet to implement a 2012 referendum that legalized medical marijuana. They champion this year鈥檚 ballot initiative as empowering the people. That mechanism enabled them to legalize pot over the objections of their elected representatives 鈥� including the governor, the attorney general, and the mayor of Boston.
鈥淲e fully understand that legalization of marijuana makes people uncomfortable. We are reversing a policy that has been in place for over a century,鈥� says Jim Borghesani, communications director for the 鈥淵es on 4鈥� organization. 鈥淚 think all elected officials should respect due process and put aside any personal feelings they may have鈥�. They owe it to the law that was just passed by a solid majority to approach this new policy in a reasonable way.鈥�
An estimated $4 million went into generating public support for the referendum, which produced TV commercials and sent multiple mailings to residents.
Boston鈥檚 WBUR radio station reported that roughly three-quarters of that came from the New Approach political action committee in Washington, and that a 鈥渃onfirms the vast majority of contributions to the PAC come from individuals with no apparent ties to the marijuana industry.鈥�
Lawmakers say they were up against more powerful forces, and were unable to convey to the public their concerns about the impact of the law.
"When you鈥檙e running a statewide campaign against a well-funded industry 鈥� they make claims we can鈥檛 refute them,鈥� says Vinny deMacedo, state senator for the Plymouth and Barnstable districts.
Referendum passes by 53.6 percent
Gov. Charlie Baker, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, and State Attorney General Maura Healey all spoke out against the referendum earlier this year, arguing that the state of Massachusetts had , decriminalizing the drug in 2008 and legalizing medicinal marijuana in 2012.
But Referendum 4 supporters argued that legalization 鈥� which opens the way for regulation 鈥� will clear the court system of marijuana-related cases, protect minorities from disproportionate arrests, bring drug dealings out of the shadows, and utilize tax revenue for worthy causes such as education, law enforcement, and drug treatment.
Massachusetts voters passed the referendum with 53.6 percent, joining voters in Nevada, California, and Maine who also legalized recreational marijuana on Election Day. They now join Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and the District of Columbia as America鈥檚 pot havens 鈥� despite a federal law that makes all forms of marijuana illegal.
Lack of local control
Similar to other states鈥� legislation, Referendum 4 prohibits marijuana consumption in public places, and limits public possession to one ounce. But for a state that was considered on the fence for legalizing recreational marijuana, other restrictions are surprisingly mild.
Pot users in Massachusetts can have up to 10 ounces of marijuana in their homes as well as 12 plants 鈥� at least double the number of plants allowed by Colorado, Alaska, Oregon, and Washington.
And Massachusetts鈥� proposed marijuana tax is only 12 percent, which includes an excise tax of 3.75 percent 鈥� far less than the other four states鈥� excise taxes, which range from . Still, the new law is expected to yield $300 million in new revenue.
鈥淭his 24-page legislation is what made the idea 鈥� to me 鈥� challenging,鈥� says Senator deMacedo, a Republican whose constituency includes part of Cape Cod, which voted overwhelmingly against the measure. 鈥淭he 12 home-grows, the low taxes, the lack of local control 鈥� those are the things that really concerned me.鈥�
The referendum gives local leaders discretion over the 鈥�,鈥� but they are unable to determine the number of establishments or their location. Each town is required to permit the number of marijuana retailers equivalent to 20 percent of the town鈥檚 liquor licenses.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 even know where the locations are going to be,鈥� says Mary, a resident of Cambridge, who didn't give her last name. 鈥淭hey were talking about one [that would be located] two miles away from the high school. That鈥檚 not right.鈥�
鈥淎 vote is a vote 鈥� we get that,鈥� says deMacedo. 鈥淏ut that doesn鈥檛 mean we can鈥檛 encourage communities to make their own individual decisions.鈥�
What鈥檚 next?
Mr. Borghesani advises city officials to give the referendum a chance. But he also adds: 鈥淭his is a state law, and as with any state law, all communities have to comply.鈥�
That is, unless they vote to opt out.
In order to do so, at least 10 percent of registered voters need to sign a petition against the measure to bring it to vote. Scheduling such a vote is logistically difficult, explain opponents. Some towns won鈥檛 hold an election for at least another year, and any future election would almost certainly be lacking the funds and voter turnout of a presidential year.
For those reasons, Sullivan is not immediately pursuing an opt-out vote. For now, he's focused on other possible solutions for Braintree: reducing the 20 percent requirement, granting zoning discretion to limit where dispensaries can be located, and raising taxes to help fund public safety efforts.聽
鈥淪imply, those communities that voted for it, great,鈥� says Sullivan, but adds that communities who don鈥檛 want pot dispensaries should be respected, too. 鈥淚鈥檓 trying to be understanding of the statewide vote, but I鈥檓 also trying to promote the fact that Braintree didn鈥檛 vote for this, and we deserve recognition for that.鈥�
(Editor's note: This story was updated to correct the time at which recreational marijuana sales will begin in Massachusetts.)
