Massachusetts High Court Allows Ballot Measure to End Adult-Use Cannabis Sales to Proceed
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court last week ruled that the ballot question seeking to roll back the commonwealth’s 2016 adult-use cannabis law will be put to voters, NBC Boston reports. The proposal had been challenged by some participants in the state’s social equity program who argued that Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell’s summary of the initiative left out key details and that she should not have certified the measure because it contains unrelated policy sections.
Justice Bessie Dewar, writing for the court, rejected the plaintiff’s arguments and ruled that Campbell “did not err in certifying the petition on either of the claimed grounds, and that her summary of the petition is fair.”
“The Attorney General argues that the petition’s various parts all relate to the common purpose of restricting the use of recreational marijuana through a new integrated scheme for marijuana regulation. We agree and are not persuaded by the plaintiffs’ arguments to the contrary.” — Dewar, in the decision, via NBC Boston
The final summary approved by Campbell states:
“The proposed law would change the type and amount of marijuana that may legally be possessed in Massachusetts by repealing the laws that legalize, regulate, and tax the retail sale of adult recreational use marijuana in Massachusetts. The proposed law would also permit persons 21 years of age and older to possess 1 ounce or less of marijuana including no more than 5 grams in the form of concentrate, and to gift or transfer to another person 21 years of age and older 1 ounce or less of marijuana including no more than 5 grams in the form of concentrate. The proposed law would also impose a civil penalty of $100 and forfeiture of the marijuana for the possession of marijuana between the weight of 1 and 2 ounces. For persons 21 years of age and younger, the proposed law would make the possession of 2 ounces or less of marijuana a civil infraction subject to a $100 fine, forfeiture of the marijuana, completion of a drug awareness program and community service, and notification to their parents or legal guardian of the offense and penalties. The proposed law would allow currently licensed adult recreational marijuana businesses to apply on an expedited basis to become a licensed medical marijuana dispensary and to sell their remaining inventory of adult recreational marijuana to medical marijuana dispensaries. The proposed law would retain the Cannabis Control Commission but modify its authority so it would regulate only the medical marijuana market. The proposed law states that, if any of its parts were declared invalid, the other parts would stay in effect. The proposed law would take effect on January 1, 2028.”
According to the Bay State Poll from the University of New Hampshire released in February, a majority – 63% – of Massachusetts residents oppose the effort to end adult-use sales in the state. The poll found 20% supported the measure.