subject: Medical Marijuana Bill In Massachusetts General Election [print this page] This November, millions of Americans will vote in what is sure to be one of the landmark elections of our time. With weighty issues like the economy, the disappearing middle class, and LGBT rights being weighed in the Presidential election, other issues are still being played out in the more localized state elections. One of the most interesting local elections will be a proposed bill in Massachusetts to legalize medical marijuana.
After gathering the necessary number of signatures to include the bill in the November elections, the paperwork was filed at the Secretary of States office on July 3rd. The final wording of the bill will appear on the election ballot as follows:
A yes vote would enact the proposed law eliminating state criminal and civil penalties related to the medical use of marijuana by patients meeting certain conditions. The marijuana will be produced and distributed by new state-regulated centers or, in specific hardship cases, patients will be allowed to grow marijuana for their own use.
What does this mean for prospective medical marijuana patients in Massachusetts should the bill pass? It means the Bay State will be open to the service of medical marijuana doctors and dispensaries. The bill allows up to 35 dispensaries throughout Massachusetts, capping at 5 per county. Marijuana will be grown and distributed by the state-regulated centers.
Presumptively the dispensaries would follow a similar format to the medical marijuana card system currently employed by states like California, where medical marijuana cards have been written into law since the Statewide Medical Cannabis ID Card Program in 2003. Especially in San Francisco, marijuana cards have seen widespread success is regulation, with over 20,000 cards issued.
However, this in no way means that anyone can get a card and walk into a dispensary for recreational drugs. A card is only issued after a written prescription given by a medical marijuana doctor and in most states can only be issued on the grounds of certain debilitating illnesses. Conditions that will be allowed under the proposed law in Massachusetts include Parkinsons, cancer, and other illness where marijuana can improve pain management, increase appetite, and have numerous other health benefits.
This vote comes off the heels of the much publicized decision by the Chicago City Council to decriminalize marijuana possession by reducing the punishment for carrying small amounts from an arrest worthy offense to a fine of between $250 and $500.
Spokeswoman for Massachusetts Committee for Compassionate Medicine, Jennifer Manley, said, We had the benefit of learning from 17 other states and the District of Columbia. The hallmark of this initiative is state regulation.
Massachusetts joins 5 other states currently with pending medical marijuana legislation; including New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, and Missouri.
