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Weed Legalization Significantly Delayed In Massachusetts After Surprise Vote By Lawmakers

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Steve Birr Vice Reporter
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Lawmakers are significantly delaying the roll out of marijuana legalization in Massachusetts, barring commercial sale for an additional six months despite the popular ballot vote.

During an informal session of the state’s congress Wednesday, legislators moved to push the opening of commercial marijuana stores from Jan. 2018 into July 2018.

The unprecedented move contradicts rules in the popular ballot that passed Election Day legalizing the drug, specifying state officials had until Jan. 1, 2018 to establish a regulatory structure for pot shops. The decision by lawmakers will leave Massachusetts marijuana law in limbo for the next 18 months, reports The Boston Globe.

It will be illegal to sell up to an ounce of marijuana, but it will be legal to purchase it, creating a degree of legal confusion among users and state police. Lawmakers in the state senate passed the measure during an informal session Wednesday morning, followed swiftly by a vote of approval in the state house, catching activists off-guard.

“We’re disappointed that a bill seeking to change a law passed by a solid margin of voters under the initiative petition process has been submitted in informal session with little notice to supporters,” Jim Borghesani, a leader of the legalization campaign, told The Boston Globe. “Our message is unchanged: This new law was written with careful consideration to process and timelines and it requires no legislative revisions.”

Supporters of the ballot are criticizing State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, who is tasked with appointing members to the Cannabis Control Commission by March 2017, so they can begin constructing a regulatory framework for commercial sale. She is one of the most vocal critics of the timeline established by the ballot and insists more time is needed.

Activists charge that it undermines democracy to alter a law approved by popular vote and note Colorado implemented a regulatory framework for commercial marijuana sale within the same 12-month period called for by the Massachusetts ballot. Lawmakers who supported the ballot promise the will of the people will ultimately be respected with full implementation of the law.

Officials certified the ballot legalizing recreational marijuana Dec. 15. Marijuana possession, home cultivation and use in private areas is now legal in the state, despite the delay of the commercial market.

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