New Proposal Would Require Cannabis Delivery People To Wear Body Cams

Medical Marijuana — View of medical marijuana plants being grown before flowering during a media tour of the Curaleaf medical cannabis cultivation and processing facility Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019, in Ravena, N.Y.

Hannah Uebele is a producer for Under the Radar with Callie Crossley and previously worked as associate producer for Boston Public Radio. She graduated from Tufts University with a B.S. in English and Environmental Studies. She's a proud Delawarean but has found herself saying "wicked" more and more often, so the Bostonian metamorphosis is well underway.Contact: hannah_uebele@wgbh.org

September 06, 2019

The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) has released a draft proposal that would require marijuana delivery people to wear body cameras.

The CCC's rationale for the body cam proposal is public safety, Boston Globe cannabis reporter Dan Adams said on Boston Public Radio Friday.

"There have been a handful of robberies of these drivers in some of the western states where marijuana delivery is allowed," said Adams. "As always with marijuana, it's just a question about balancing public safety with consumer access."

The proposal has sparked public outcry from critics citing privacy concerns, Adams said.

"The [CCC] certainly heard a lot of very loud push-back on this idea," he said. "Most of the concerns are around the fact that the way it's written right now allows law enforcement to access the footage basically for any reason at any time. They're required to keep recorded footage for at least 90 days, but they're not required necessarily to delete it after that."

Since the body cam proposal is just a draft, the CCC will be able revise it based on feedback, Adams said.

"I think there's some willingness, even among the commissioners who support the body cam idea, to restrict that access to only law enforcement officers who are actively investigating an incident, rather than just going on a fishing expedition looking for marijuana consumers," he said.