Objection to Possible New Massachusetts Marijuana Law Fails

Marijuana has been available for recreational use in Massachusetts since late 2018 after it was legalized by voters in 2016. The first recreational marijuana sales took place in Berkshire County in January of 2019 with the opening of Theory Wellness in Great Barrington, Massachusetts and it's been off to the races since then.

Early last year it was estimated that there were just over 175 marijuana dispensaries in Massachusetts, about 100 of them being recreational and 65 serving medical licenses as well. Everything from edible chocolates to pre-rolled joints and even cannabis drinks are fair game for adults in the Bay State.

While recreational sales have been around for almost seven years, it's not without regulations. Laws for facilities are very strict and include restrictions on everything from the stores doors and flow of foot traffic to the amount adults can purchase in one day. One objection to a regulation that was proposed for the upcoming ballot has hit a major stand still.

Ballot Question that Would Repeal Adult Use Marijuana Fails

A new Massachusetts ballot question seeking to repeal adult-use recreational marijuana legalization has been dismissed. The proposal wanted to completely change marijuana industry regulations and laws, which was met with a fair amount of push back.

According to WGBH, at the beginning of this year attorney Thomas Kiley filed a formal challenge against the question, claiming that signatures supporting the ballot question, almost 80,000, were fraudulent. The petition alleges that signature gatherers lied about what voters were signing.

Secretary of the Commonwealth Bill Galvin said in order for a challenge to be successful, "each individual signature in question would need to be proven to be fraudulent, which would be extremely difficult."

The push to remove the ballot question was unsuccessful, saying the objection “rings hollow given that absolutely no admissible evidence has been presented or offered supporting the allegations made.”