The November ballot referendum that legalized marijuana for medical use in Massachusetts required that regulations be issued by May 1 to implement the law, but state health officials say the complexity of the issue has proven so daunting that they are unlikely to complete final rules by that deadline.
The referendum left dozens of crucial details to be decided by regulators, including the ailments for which patients could use marijuana, whether permits should have an expiration date, and whether dispensaries that sell marijuana brownies should be inspected like restaurants.
Comments
Amazing. A 21 year old can purchase a fifth of whiskey, drink it to their head and become a raging drunk. Meanwhile a 50 year old suffering from a terminal illness needs to wait for the state to figure out how to distribute medical marijuana so they can get their appetite back. Regulate and tax it and be done with it!
All other prescription drugs for pain are mostly sold in drugstore. Some through the mail from Central Pharmacy Companies. The latter presents a problem but CVS, WalGreen, RiteAid, etc distribute other painkillers with a prescription. Why not marijuana? Everyone involved in the setting up of the rules for marjuana distribution should all get into a room together, smoke a joint, then get down to a business.
Can't be done. Pharmacies and prescription drugs are regulated by the FDA and marijuana is still illegal under Federal law, so sales in pharmacies is not possible.
also amazing: elected representatives, appointed bureaucrats and the usual law-and-order-complex is hard at work to figure out how to thwart a very popular referendum.
really, town zoning laws overriding a state law ?? we all know the type of old fogeys who run things in the towns, so who is kidding whom?? perhaps one town should be taken as a model, sued and have to pay for such a see-through and frivolous local attempt at an override, then the rest of the passive-aggressive towns will fall in line. what is clear is that the War on Drugs, that invention of Richard Nixon more than 40 years ago, which has done so much to both destroy liberties and waste money, is on its way out and good riddance.
I agree with all the other comments posted so far. This is all bureaucratic stalling and nonsense. Just legalize marijuana completely and we won't need all these rules at all nor will crime at these "storefronts" be an issue. The people have spoken at the polls and I for one am tired of seeing elected officials drag their feet on implementing another referendum question.
I don't use marijuana in any way, but it amazes me the big deal that some make over it.
Of course they will. One of the highest tax burdens in the country, Deval wants more money and still no one can complete a simple task of issuing regulations within 7 months of the election. I would say two lawyers and a couple of experts could sit in a room and finish this in one week. But why would we expect any efficiency from state government.
That said, the people of Massachusetts deserve what they voted for.
We do not have "one of the highest tax burdens in the country". That is a myth. There are MORE than THIRTY states with higher tax burdens than Massachusetts. Do the research.
Post a link to the research if you are so confident in it.
The average overall tax burder for Mass residents in 2010 was 10.4 % of income, ranking 8th.
The ranking can be a little deceptive though. There are a few outliers, such New York (12.8 %) and Alaska (7.0 %), but the majority of states are clustered between the 9%-10.5%, so the difference between rankings can be relatively small. For instance, Maine is ranked 9 at 10.3 %.
I'm proud to be from Massachusetts. It's a great place to live.
The figures are from the tax foundation.
http://taxfoundation.org/article/state-and-local-tax-burdens-all-states-one-year-1977-2010
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If they cant do what the voters mandated, they should be fired and replaced. Is this really all that complex in other states with medical weed?
so how do all the elected officials, bureaucrats and organized medical societies presume to override the voters of the Commonwealth??
there is, obviously, an industry which thrives off of Nixon's War on Drugs ... police, prosecutors, goody-2-shoes and politicians, among others. and they get to strangle medical marijuana in its crib ?? the Globe should do a special reporting series on how reform is being stymied in the wake of TWO landslide referenda ...
More stalling by the uninformed and biased. Has anyone contaced another state where medical marijuana laws have been enacted? Are we the first? While our mostly ineffective politicians and policy makers debate trivial reasons for postponement, hundreds of thousands of dollars enter the black market weekly as anybody who desires to smoke a joint can get anything they want. Regulate it, tax it and give all of the revenue to our schools and police.