 By Amy ShaferÂ
A bill with bipartisan support was introduced in Massachusetts to establish a legal market for licensed businesses to sell marijuana to adults 21 and older.
H.1561, sponsored by Rep. David Rogers (D-Belmont), Sen. Pat Jehlen (D-Somerville), and a bipartisan group of 13 co-sponsors, would make it legal for adults over 21 to possess and grow limited amounts of marijuana. The bill also establishes a regulated system of licensed marijuana retail stores, cultivation facilities and testing facilities.
According to the bill's text, H.1561 aims to eliminate the black market and "correct the historical error of prohibition."
“Marijuana is less harmful than alcohol to the consumer and to society, and it ought to be treated that way,” commented Matt Simon, New England political director for the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) in a statement the organization released about the new bill. “There is a mountain of evidence demonstrating marijuana is less addictive than alcohol, less toxic, and less likely to contribute to violent and reckless behavior. Adults shouldn’t be punished for making the safer choice.”
The MPPÂ plans to support a 2016 ballot initiative to regulate and tax marijuana like alcohol if the legislature fails to pass such a measure sooner.
