Dear Senator Lewis,

Thank you so very much for visiting my homegrow. Besides being a lot of fun (you are definitely invited back again!), this is how we do democracy and I am honored to be a part of it. I think the visit and our conversation went quite a ways to fostering greater understanding of each other’s points of view. I also think a significant landmark has been passed in general – now cannabis legalization can be discussed with scientific awareness and less reefer-madness fearmongering. We have indeed turned a corner.

I have been talking about our conversation and now everyone is googling ‘Spanish co-op/grow-ops’ and are thrilled at the entrepreneurial opportunities on the horizon.

Thank you for taking this seriously and I think we are really going a good job. I’m proud of Massachusetts.

Sincerely, Kathryn Rifkin Private Citizen (and full disclosure, Clerk at MassCann)

June 22, 2017 Chairman Mark Cusack Massachusetts State House 24 Beacon Street, Boston 02133 Dear Chairman Cusack, Thank you for all the good work you have done on behalf of the citizens of Massachusetts in your position as Chairman of the Joint Committee on Marijuana. As we sat through the long Committee hearings, and the hours of testimony, I was very impressed with the way you respectfully listened, and asked thoughtful questions. When you graciously met with me about the farming portions of the bill, your candid assessment, probing questions and honest responses were measured and refreshing. Although we oppose the final version of the House Omnibus Bill (H.3776) because of the excessive tax rate, and especially the repeal of both ballot initiative laws, coupled with the retrofit of the Gaming Commission law that replaces them, there are many portions of the bill that are good changes and show that you were listening in the hearings and have attempted to craft a good law. It is unfortunate that the house leadership has imposed the core outline of an unrelated industry regulation on top of what could have been a strong foundation. The portion of the bill that creates the ‘Cooperative Marijuana Farm’ is a fine example of a good policy, which will allow farmers and small businesses to compete effectively in the industry. The addition of the language on hemp farming is likewise, a very good piece of legislation that shows you were listening and struggled to craft a fair bill that will be a boon to farmers (there is one part that will require some changes later: the restriction that seed must come from a DEA approved distributor, when the other hemp-growing states like Kentucky and Colorado quickly discovered that no such distributor exists. MDAR is already aware of this problem and hopefully you will allow them to implement a state-to-state seed exchange with the certified seed banks that do now exist). We hope that as you work through the compromise between the House bill and the Senate amendment, you will be open to the suggestion that the approach of amending the voter approved laws is preferable to the insult if repealing it. We believe that if this is done, the compromise that emerges from this committee will be a good law and acceptable to the voters who have spoken. I do thank you for all you have done. Gratefully yours, Linda Noel Mass Cann Treasurer/Director

Dear Mr. Ross, I am a constituent of yours, who actually voted for you (you are one of two Republicans I have EVER voted for) and unless you support your fellow Senators in the reconciliation of S,2097 and H.3776, it will not only be the LAST time I vote for you but I will actively work to make certain it is YOUR last time being elected to the Senate. The voters in Franklin voted overwhelmingly to support Question 4, now Chapter 334. I was in the Franklin Senior Center in January 2016, when you returned from your trip to Colorado and was trying to scare people into voting against Question 4. Your misconceptions were annoying then, but now they are dangerous. Had you been in the hearings of the Joint Committee on Marijuana, you would have learned quite a few things about Cannabis, and the people in Massachusetts who consume it for medical and recreational reasons. You would have learned that in states that have legalized, no increase in youth use has occurred. You would have learned that in Colorado there was no deluge of ER visits by children and that the labeling and packaging regulations written into both bills are exactly what Colorado and other states have done. You would have noticed that the Secretary of Health in Colorado was quoted In the news saying that he wished if you were going to visit Colorado that you would not then leave telling lies about what you found there. They LOVE their law and have no plans to try to repeal it. They are rolling in cash receipts and their only regret was the tax was TOO HIGH, and the black market did not go away because of it. They cannot just lower it there because it is enshrined in their Constitution, not just a law. You would know that in the states that have readily available legal marijuana, opioid deaths and overdoses have DROPPED 25% (this is a fact, had you read the packet Mass Cann delivered to your office in March, you would KNOW THIS). According to Medicare and the NIH, prescriptions for opioid drugs plummeted in states with legal cannabis, as did all prescriptions issued to senior citizens (who benefit greatly from it’s medical uses). You would have learned about the Endocannabinoid system (have your aid google it) and how the phytocannabinoids in Marijuana supplement the natural ones made by your body and are essential to life itself, controlling everything from autoimmune function to cellular systems that clear toxins from your body and that extensive studies done in Israel (who have a robust medical program) show it is effective for epilepsy, autism, Alzheimer’s, MS, Parkinson’s, fibromyalgia, osteoporosis, and that it has not only been patented by the US government as a nueroprotectant- as in Alzheimer’s preventative, but also by GW Pharmaceuticals (in the US, Jan 2017) as a cure for Cancer (glioma and colon cancer). You would have heard from the hundreds of people who testified about how their lives had been destroyed by Prohibition, how the minority communities were arrested at rates high above whites (even after decriminalization, Bristol county had the highest minority arrest rates in the entire US). And you would know WHY the Senate bill is written the way it is. And you would gladly vote FOR IT. But you were not paying attention since you were not on the Committee and you believed you already had all the answers. WELL YOU DON”T. Now it is time to admit that you might need a little more information, and since you do not have time to learn, you just may have to trust the judgement of your colleagues. And your constituents. The Gaming Commission Law that IS the basis for the House Bill is a monstrous law that creates a whole new law enforcement agency when our own Attorney General has said this is not needed. It hikes the tax rate to 28%, when the DOR has testified that the tax should NOT be raised until after the first full year of sales because Maine’s tax is 10% and it will cost us cross-border sales and tourism dollars and at 12% it is projected to cover ALL the costs of the law and net somewhere around $64-124 million in the first six months of sales alone. The Senate law has all the amendments contained in the house law that protect our farmers and allow them to participate in the new market, both for Hemp and as small Cooperative Farms. MDAR has testified that they are ready to help the CCC oversee this and Senators and Representatives from the areas with farms are behind these amendments. This program is vital to our farmers, who have testified that hemp can be the difference between a farm being passed on to the next generation and the farmer being forced off his land by a drought. It means being able to send his or her kids to college, and being able to provide good jobs for the 30,000 farm workers in this state. So, as you told the State House News, you may indeed ‘have very different views than the members of the Joint Committee’, however as one of the people you are supposed to be representing, I am telling you to vote to support the Senate bill S.2097. And I am warning you that your voters are watching. And we have a LONG memory, so don’t think we will forget what you do this week. I was in every single hearing at the State House. I have met with almost every member of the Committee on both sides. I am telling you, you are wrong to oppose the Senate Bill. Now you know why. Vote for it. Please. Linda Noel

H3195 An Act Improving the Taxation and Regulation of Marijuana

Lead Sponsor: Representative Denise Provost

 What H.3195 would do:

• Give Massachusetts Farmers the right to grow marijuana by:

• • Reversing the exception for marijuana cultivation from the zoning definition of “agriculture”
  • Removing the state-imposed caps on the number of marijuana growers
  • Reducing permits fees for growers from $15,000, to an annual $100 fee

 

• Reduce restrictions on the personal use of marijuana by:

• • Removing limitations on how much marijuana an individual over the age of 21 may grow or possess for personal use
  • Requiring employers to treat off-duty marijuana consumption just like off-duty alcohol consumption
  • Treating the regulation of marijuana much as we do alcohol¹

 

• Reduce Marijuana Bureaucracy by:

• • Relying on our existing Department of Agriculture, Department of Revenue, and the Department of Public Health to oversee the marijuana industry
  • Avoiding the creation of new agencies or regulatory bodies

 

• Optimize the economic development potential of marijuana by:

• • Providing for local option licensing of Cannabis Cafés
  • Authorizing marijuana farmer’s markets

 

• Shrink the Marijuana Black Market by:

• • Retroactively applying provisions of the law to pending civil citations and actions with regard to marijuana possession, cultivation, and distribution
  • Reducing the new marijuana sales tax by 1.75%

 

• Sensibly regulate marijuana advertising and packaging by:

• • Prohibiting methods designed to appeal to youth (near schools, using cartoon characters, or vending machines, etc.)
  • Requiring strict warning labels and sealed purchase containers, retailers’ employee training, and a “secret shopper” program to monitor retailers

 

• Discourage inappropriate behaviors by:

• • Directing 12.5% of revenue to the Commonwealth Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Fund.
  • Establishing criminal penalties for supplying marijuana to underage persons, or administering it to any person without their knowledge or consent.

 

For more information or to request complete citations please contact:

Representative Denise Provost at 617-722-2263 or denise.provost@mahouse.gov

Call Your Representatives Today! Tell Them to Keep It Legal!

 Support H 3195 An Act to Improve Taxation and Regulation of Marijuana

          Eliminates Home Grow Limits, Allows farmers to grow Cannabis and Hemp, Provides superior protection for children!

Support S.1062 An Act Relative to Expungement for Repealed Crimes

Support H.3197 An Act Authorizing Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers to begin selling Recreational Marijuana on July 1, 2017

Support H. 2385 An Act to protect patients approved by physicians and certified by the Department of Public Health to access medical marijuana

Call Joint Committee on Marijuana Co-Chair Senator Patricia Jehlen

(617) 722-1578

Call Joint Committee on Marijuana Co-Chair Representative Mark Cusack (617) 722-2637

Call Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo (617) 722-2500

Call Senate President Stan Rosenberg (617) 722-1500

Go to malegislature.gov/search/findmylegislator

And CALL YOUR OWN LEGISLATORS TODAY!!!!!

MassCann talking points 1. MassCann urges legislators to consider changes to the new law based on Facts, Not Fear. 2. Do not enact further restrictions on access to legal marijuana by limiting home grow, making licensing or zoning more difficult, limiting production, or increasing the tax. 3. Limiting access to legal marijuana, for those 21 and over, will only enhance the illegal market. 4. The legalized market has not led to increased adolescent usage, and may have led to a decrease in adolescent usage in other legalized states. 5. Enact stronger protections for those engaged in legal marijuana use: – Protection against workplace discrimination – Drop pending charges for offenses no longer a crime under new law – Record expungement

Talking Points

• Keep Taxes Low The tax in the law (6.5% sales tax, 3.75% excise plus 2% local for a total of 12.25%) must be kept low to eliminate the black market. As we have seen with the cigarette tax, increases beyond a point merely encourage smuggling. With Maine set to tax at a rate of 10%, increasing our tax beyond it’s current rate will just encourage people to drive across the border, as they do with alcohol and tobacco (to Rhode Island and New Hampshire).

• No Limits on Home Grow Any limit on personal home grow amounts perpetuates the police state mentality. The voters have decided that cannabis use is no longer a crime. Having police officers enter a private residence to count plants is a violation of the spirit of legalization. It is permissible to brew ones own beer, distill small quantities of liquor and make wine. There is a limit to how much one can produce (200 gallons of beer or wine). There is no enforcement of this limit (no one forces entry into a private residence to count gallons of beer). Some Legislators have asked what the ‘normal’ yield for a cannabis plant is. Grown outdoors, with adequate care and no pests, a grower can expect an annual yield of around 2 ounces per plant. The plant is planted outside after last frost and harvested in September or October. An indoor grow room yield will depend entirely on the amount of light, and quality of care provided. Indoor yields are generally 1 ox per square foot, with a plant requiring approximately 2 square feet and yielding around 2 oz of dried flower. From seed, It takes approximately 6 months to grow, bloom and dry a plant. Every seed will not yield a viable female plant: at least 50% will be males that are unusable. It takes 3-4 months to get to the point in the grow cycle where one can tell male from female. Under the six plant limit, and with a lot of luck, a grower could expect to end up with 3 female plants (the males would be removed and destroyed at flowering age: 3-4 months) which would yield approximately 6 ounces when harvested and dried (at age 6-7 months). Keeping to the limit, one’s maximum annual yield would therefore be approximately 12 ounces, If one were an experienced and lucky grower.

• No Delayed Start for Sales The postponement of legal sales has created a ‘legal grey zone’ where the possession of Cannabis is legal but the only place for a non-medical user to obtain it is the black market. In delaying sales, we are perpetuating the illegal profits from this market, encouraging the cartels and gangs to continue to market to potentially underage consumers, and foregoing potentially millions of dollars in tax revenue. It is in the best interest of the Commonwealth to stamp out the black market, with their marketing to underage people and pushing alternative drugs like heroine. The sooner legal sales begin, the sooner the illegal sales and exposure to more harmful substances will end.

• Record Expungement Too many of our citizens have criminal records because of simple possession charges, some many decades old. These people are discriminated against when it comes to job applications, housing, and federal student loans and grants. These people are disproportionately minorities because of the uneven application of prohibition enforcement. These people are sentenced to lives of poverty because of a record for something that is no longer a crime. All records for simple possession (no guns involved) must be expunged.

• Repeal the Hemp Zoning Exclusion (Chapter 351) Chapter 351, passed in December had a clause in it to specifically exclude Cannabis – even low THC Hemp – from the Chapter 40a Law that prohibits zoning discrimination against commercial agriculture. This portion of the bill languished and died in committee before being resurrected and passed in secret during the informal session with no debate and no public hearings. It must be stricken from the books. The farmers of the Commonwealth must be permitted to grow hemp for food, and for dietary supplements. There is already a multi-million dollar industry in this country and all the profits from the farming of hemp are going to farmers in Canada, Germany and China.

• Protection for Parents Cannabis use must no longer be considered grounds for an investigation by DCF, grounds for loss of parental rights, nor grounds for loss of custody in divorce. Hospitals must no longer test infants for THC (which currently triggers an automatic investigation by DCF). Partners has already made this policy change. The other hospital systems must also.

Content goes here March 15, 2017 Dear Sir or Madam, Thank you for taking the time to meet with us today. Some of us are your constituents and some of us are concerned citizens of the Commonwealth, and we are all of us grateful to you for your time and your attention. This is a critical time for the Commonwealth and we are united in our stand that the will of the voter must be upheld when the time comes to address Chapter 334, the new law to tax and regulate Cannabis. We stand on the threshold of opportunity: the law can be shaped to provide jobs, to repair the damage done by 80 years of prohibition, to ensure that income from taxes is adequate to cover the expenses of the new law while still being low enough to end the black market once and for all and to ensure that the new commercial market will allow for small businesses and large businesses to operate without any monopolies. It is refreshing to meet a politician with an open mind. We thank you for yours. Sincerely, The Members of the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition

An Act Improving Taxation and Regulation of Marijuana Sectional analysis SECTION 1. Amends Chapter 10 of the General Laws by repealing Section 76 and Section 77, which create the Cannabis Control Commission and the Cannabis Advisory Board. SECTION 2. Renumbers Section 4 of Chapter 334 of the Acts of 2016, dealing with the taxation of marijuana, to conform with SECTION 1 of this bill. SECTION 3. Reduces the excise tax on marijuana sold at retail from 3.75% to 2.0 %. SECTION 4. Ensures that 6.25% sales tax is applied evenly across new marijuana industry. SECTION 5. Redirects 25% of monies collected by the Commonwealth from new marijuana excise tax and various fees an penalties to the Agricultural Resolve and Trust Fund (12.5%) and the Commonwealth Substance Prevention and Treatment Fund (12.5%) SECTION 6. Renumbering of Sections. SECTION 7. Amends definition of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act to apply to marijuana and marijuana derivatives that have psychoactive properties. SECTION 8. Renumbering of subsections of 94G. SECTION 9. Creates in 94G a new definition of Cannabis Cafes. Removes definition of Cannabis Control Commission. Allows marijuana cultivators to also register as marijuana retailers. Includes marijuana cafes within definition of marijuana establishments. Subjects local zoning for marijuana farms to normal restrictions for agricultural land. Defines marijuana farmer’s market. Includes Cannabis Cafes in definition of marijuana retailer. Adds definition of Medical Marijuana Treatment Center. Defines raw marijuana. Creates secret shopper program to monitor activities of marijuana retailers. Renumbers sections. SECTION 10. Requires employers to treat off duty consumption of marijuana in the same manner they would treat off duty consumption of alcohol. SECTION 11. Provides that local authorities may not regulate marijuana related business or use more stringently than alcohol or tobacco, as applicable. Further provides for local licensing and regulation of Cannabis Cafes. Establishes local excise on Cannabis cafes, in addition to state sales tax and local meals tax. SECTION 12. Removes Cannabis Control Commission, and Cannabis Advisory Board, as regulatory authority and licensing marijuana establishments. SECTION 13. Places regulation of marijuana establishments under Department of Agriculture, Department of Revenue, and Department of Public Health. SECTION 14. Places regulation of marijuana product producers under regulation of Department of Public Health. SECTION 15. Requires marijuana retailers to register under Department of Revenue. Allows Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers to register as marijuana retailers. SECTION 16. Repeal of licensing procedures under Cannabis Control Commission. SECTION 17. Further subjects regulation of marijuana farms to Department of Agriculture. SECTION 18. Provides for restrictions on marijuana retailers. Regulates marijuana advertising. Provides for Labeling of marijuana packaging for sale. SECTION 19. Eliminates limits on possession of marijuana for personal use. Removes restriction on cultivation of marijuana for personal use. Removes restriction on transfer of marijuana, for personal use, to individuals 21 or older. Legal marijuana use may not be considered misconduct in determination of child visitation or custody rights. SECTION 20. Removes penalties for possession of marijuana of over one ounce. Removes penalties for cultivation of more than 12 marijuana plants for personal use. SECTION 21. Provides that individuals under the age of 18, who procure marijuana in any way, shall undergo substance abuse treatment evaluation, and a report of the evaluation will be provided to parents or guardians. Establishes further penalties for providing marijuana to a minor. Provides penalty for administering of marijuana to an individual without his or her knowledge or consent. Establishes evidence of sale of marijuana. Sets conditions for marijuana search warrants. SECTION 22. Provides that rules for unpaid citations and criminal actions to be applied retroactively. SECTION 23. Commissioner of Banks to promulgate rules for marijuana industry. SECTION 24. Amends child custody statute to provide that lawful marijuana use cannot be considered misconduct. SECTION 25. Provides definition of common nuisance, as pertains to illegal gaming or sale of alcohol, be applied to illegal sale of marijuana. SECTION 26. Provides that cultivation of marijuana will be considered the same as other agricultural cultivation for local zoning purposes. SECTION 27. Restricts employment in marijuana related businesses to those age 21 and over. SECTION 28. Provisions of General laws applicable to adulteration of food, misbranding of food or drugs, samples, and manufacture shall apply to marijuana. SECTION 29. Amends warning label requirements. SECTION 30. Subjects motor vehicle operation under influence of alcohol to same provisions for marijuana use. SECTION 31. Severability.

An Act Improving Taxation and Regulation of Marijuana Sectional analysis

SECTION 1. Amends Chapter 10 of the General Laws by repealing Section 76 and Section 77, which create the Cannabis Control Commission and the Cannabis Advisory Board.

SECTION 2. Renumbers Section 4 of Chapter 334 of the Acts of 2016, dealing with the taxation of marijuana, to conform with SECTION 1 of this bill.

SECTION 3. Reduces the excise tax on marijuana sold at retail from 3.75% to 2.0 %.

SECTION 4. Ensures that 6.25% sales tax is applied evenly across new marijuana industry.

SECTION 5. Redirects 25% of monies collected by the Commonwealth from new marijuana excise tax and various fees an penalties to the Agricultural Resolve and Trust Fund (12.5%) and the Commonwealth Substance Prevention and Treatment Fund (12.5%)

SECTION 6. Renumbering of Sections.

SECTION 7. Amends definition of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act to apply to marijuana and marijuana derivatives that have psychoactive properties.

SECTION 8. Renumbering of subsections of 94G.

SECTION 9. Creates in 94G a new definition of Cannabis Cafes. Removes definition of Cannabis Control Commission. Allows marijuana cultivators to also register as marijuana retailers. Includes marijuana cafes within definition of marijuana establishments. Subjects local zoning for marijuana farms to normal restrictions for agricultural land. Defines marijuana farmer’s market. Includes Cannabis Cafes in definition of marijuana retailer. Adds definition of Medical Marijuana Treatment Center. Defines raw marijuana. Creates secret shopper program to monitor activities of marijuana retailers. Renumbers sections.

SECTION 10. Requires employers to treat off duty consumption of marijuana in the same manner they would treat off duty consumption of alcohol.

SECTION 11. Provides that local authorities may not regulate marijuana related business or use more stringently than alcohol or tobacco, as applicable. Further provides for local licensing and regulation of Cannabis Cafes. Establishes local excise on Cannabis cafes, in addition to state sales tax and local meals tax.

SECTION 12. Removes Cannabis Control Commission, and Cannabis Advisory Board, as regulatory authority and licensing marijuana establishments.

SECTION 13. Places regulation of marijuana establishments under Department of Agriculture, Department of Revenue, and Department of Public Health.

SECTION 14. Places regulation of marijuana product producers under regulation of Department of Public Health.

SECTION 15. Requires marijuana retailers to register under Department of Revenue. Allows Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers to register as marijuana retailers.

SECTION 16. Repeal of licensing procedures under Cannabis Control Commission.

SECTION 17. Further subjects regulation of marijuana farms to Department of Agriculture.

SECTION 18. Provides for restrictions on marijuana retailers. Regulates marijuana advertising. Provides for Labeling of marijuana packaging for sale.

SECTION 19. Eliminates limits on possession of marijuana for personal use. Removes restriction on cultivation of marijuana for personal use. Removes restriction on transfer of marijuana, for personal use, to individuals 21 or older. Legal marijuana use may not be considered misconduct in determination of child visitation or custody rights.

SECTION 20. Removes penalties for possession of marijuana of over one ounce. Removes penalties for cultivation of more than 12 marijuana plants for personal use.

SECTION 21. Provides that individuals under the age of 18, who procure marijuana in any way, shall undergo substance abuse treatment evaluation, and a report of the evaluation will be provided to parents or guardians. Establishes further penalties for providing marijuana to a minor. Provides penalty for administering of marijuana to an individual without his or her knowledge or consent. Establishes evidence of sale of marijuana. Sets conditions for marijuana search warrants.

SECTION 22. Provides that rules for unpaid citations and criminal actions to be applied retroactively.

SECTION 23. Commissioner of Banks to promulgate rules for marijuana industry.

SECTION 24. Amends child custody statute to provide that lawful marijuana use cannot be considered misconduct.

SECTION 25. Provides definition of common nuisance, as pertains to illegal gaming or sale of alcohol, be applied to illegal sale of marijuana.

SECTION 26. Provides that cultivation of marijuana will be considered the same as other agricultural cultivation for local zoning purposes.

SECTION 27. Restricts employment in marijuana related businesses to those age 21 and over.

SECTION 28. Provisions of General laws applicable to adulteration of food, misbranding of food or drugs, samples, and manufacture shall apply to marijuana.

SECTION 29. Amends warning label requirements. SECTION 30. Subjects motor vehicle operation under influence of alcohol to same provisions for marijuana use.

SECTION 31. Severability