Wednesday, November 9, 2016

We won the war... Q4 passes

So Framingham voters approved Q4 15,677 to 13,340. Not as big as I had envisioned, but consider that since 2000  marijuana has been on the ballot 4 times and in each, won by overwhelmingly. Now before the doomsayers run and hide from this consider the tax revenue impact this will have on our budget. And also consider the amount of law enforcement dollars not needed to enforce prohibition of marijuana.. now to be considered ad cannabis.
Law enforcement will have to wear their body cameras to show a driver to be impaired when pulled over, despite the fact that a breathalyzer will not be used. Young children will NOT be running to a cannabis cafe and getting high or sick on eatables. Parents who grow will have their plants out of public sight. And the State will have to come up with reasonable regulations by 2018. They had the opportunity to draft a legalization law but failed to do so.
I'm reminded by some fellow MW Norml members of all the years we stood in front of the post office each April, telling last minute tax payers how if marijuana were legalized their taxes would be less.
Time will tell how much revenue will be generated for Framingham, but I believe it will be in the millions when a few shops (cafes) are up and running. After all, after the country elected Trump, we in all blue Mass may need a get high with a little help from our friends.
Thanks to all who have hung in there.. common sense has prevailed over non sense. 

3 Comments:

At November 23, 2016 at 9:18 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Little late getting to you, but I did not realize the blog was back and active. So, congrats on accomplishing something I never thought I would see in my lifetime, legalization of a plant that helps people. So stupid that it took so long for this to happen, but it would not have happened without you, so thanks for being the guy who took the hits when this was not such an accepted position.

 
At November 26, 2016 at 3:20 PM , Blogger Jim Pillsbury said...

The fight may just be beginning. Those in power will try their best to not enact the ballot question. I can't and won't stop now. It's the law. And for all intensive purposes, hemp is now legal to grow, although our Mass Hemp Bill is still in play on Beacon Hill.

 
At January 2, 2017 at 11:40 AM , Blogger e from boston said...

Hi Jim, hoping to talk with you about the status of industrial hemp in Mass. Can you contact me, I tried through the blog and it didn't work. Thanks and Happy New Year. ellen_bfine@yahoo.com

 

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