The wait for legal marijuana retail shops in Massachusetts could be even longer than expected, as state lawmakers move to delay the opening of recreational pot shops by six months.
If Gov. Charlie Baker signs the bill passed Wednesday by the House and Senate, homegrown cannabis and possession of the drug would still be legal, but the timeline for introducing and regulating retail marijuana shops would be set back from January 2018 to July 2018.
"What it has done is delay everything, so now we have this awkward period that we're in now, where it's legal to possess marijuana but not legal to sell it and we're going to have that extended for six months, which really does no favors for anybody, especially law enforcement," said Jim Borghesani, who helped write the ballot question that voters approved this past November.
Senate President Stan Rosenberg and House Speaker Robert DeLeo said in a statement the delay is necessary to work with stakeholders to improve regulations not included in the current law. Lawmakers want to add safety measures to the law and possibly increase the effective 12 percent sales tax on marijuana products.
“The Legislature has a responsibility to implement the will of the voters while also protecting public health and public safety," Senate President Stan Rosenberg (D-Amherst) wrote in a joint statement released with House Speaker Robert DeLeo. "This short delay will allow the necessary time for the Legislature to work with stakeholders on improving the new law.”
The House and Senate are wrapping up their work for the year with very lightly attended informal sessions. There were only a few lawmakers in either chamber when they both passed the bill that would delay the licensing process for retail shops. The bill delays several key deadlines laid out by the November ballot question, including when licenses begin to be awarded to for marijuana shops. A six-month delay in licensing means at least a six-month delay in when those shops can open.
“The delay will allow the committee process to work through the law’s complicated implications and provide a process by which we can strengthen, refine and improve it,' DeLeo wrote in the statement, adding that the legislative leaders' "goal has always been to make sure that the intent of the voters is carried out."
Baker has given every indication that that he also wants the six-month delay. He said recently that he would support a delay for a "reasonable time period." Wednesday, Baker's spokeswoman said the governor will carefully review the legislation—which is what his staff say about basically every bill the Legislature sends him.
In a statement, the spokeswoman said he'll work to "ensure the transition protects the interests of our communities and families while adhering to the will of the voters."
Like Baker, public safety is a big question for lawmakers. There's no real equivalent to a breathalyzer, so judging who's too intoxicated to drive is a problem for police. The Legislature is also looking at mandates for packaging, labeling and limiting products like edible marijuana products.
The other major part of the eventual marijuana bill will be an attempt to raise the excise tax on marijuana sales from effectively 12 percent to as high as 30 percent. Lawmakers say they'll need more money from sales to regulate the new industry, study it and put further safety programs in place.
Borghesani said the language in the ballot question, which set up a timeline for the establishment of the three-member Cannabis Control Commission and licensing, was sufficient and there was no need to delay it.
"Every other state went forward with the same timelines that were proposed in our bill and I don't see why Massachusetts has to be any different," Borghesani said. "So what this will do is it will delay things, but I don't think it will have any harmful effect on the industry itself."
