You have spoken. Are your elected officials listening?
On Election Day, 54 percent of voters decided in favor of Question 4: The Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act – permitting adults to legally grow and to possess marijuana for personal use, while also establishing regulations governing commercial cannabis cultivation and capping taxes on retail sales.
Your message could not have been any clearer: It is time to legalize and regulate the adult use of marijuana.
But it is becoming increasingly apparent that many powerful politicians and bureaucrats are trying their best to ignore voters’ will and rewrite history.
Over the past few weeks, legislative leaders have called for a series of delays and amendments. These include:
•Pushing back the law’s implementation date beyond the December 15, 2016 deadline;
•Eliminating adults right to personally cultivate marijuana at home by claiming that it may “interfere” with the state’s goal of “generating revenues”;
•Significantly increasing the proposed 3.75 percent excise tax rate, a rate which is currently the lowest in the nation;
•Delaying the roll out of licensed retail facilities until late 2018.
The arrogance and hubris lawmakers are showing toward voters is shocking, and is typified by the comments of Senate President Stanley C. Rosenberg who, only hours after the vote, pronounced: “I believe that when voters vote on most ballot questions, they are voting in principle. They are not voting on the fine detail that is contained within the proposal.”
It’s time for you to send another clear message to your lawmakers: Abide by voters’ decision or feel the consequences.
Voters knew full well what they were voting for on Election Day. And now it is time for politicians to deliver.
Please use the pre-written letter below to demand that your lawmakers implement Question 4 as written and in a time-sensitive manner. Legal marijuana is coming to The Bay State; it’s time for politicians to get on board.
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws – Advocacy Campaigns
