Jun 11, 2014
Commonwealth Magazine, Mason Tvert, Massachusetts
On Tuesday, MPP and allied advocates launched a ballot referendum committee to make marijuana legal, taxed, and regulated for adults in Massachusetts. The committee is called the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Massachusetts and will allow MPP to begin raising money within Massachusetts. Massachusetts voters have shown a desire to reform their marijuana laws, first by decriminalizing simple possession in 2008, and then by approving a medical marijuana ballot initiative in 2012. In addition, a recent poll taken by WBUR/MassINC Polling Group found that 49% of Massachusetts voters support making marijuana legal.
MPP’s Mason Tvert weighed in on the future of MPP’s involvement in Massachusetts in Commonwealth Magazine, stating, “We’re going to be spending the next year working to build a coalition. We really want to replicate the Colorado process, and not just the winning part. We spent six months drafting the best possible initiative, and the most effective system we felt was possible. That’s our goal in Massachusetts: to get a large group of stakeholders, and write the best possible law. If the legislature wants to participate in drafting the law, they’ll have the opportunity. And if not, and if we believe it’s something the voters want, we have no choice but to take it to the ballot.”