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Opponents of a November ballot question to legalize medical marijuana want the state's highest court to force Attorney General Martha Coakley to spell out for voters the exact details of the proposed law, which would open dozens of pot dispensaries and allow home-grown marijuana.
"We believe the language is misleading. We will be educating the voters about the realities of this legislation and how harmful it will be," said Heidi Heilman, president and founder of Massachusetts Prevention Alliance, who said the proposal is vague and lacks oversight. "You don't have to smoke opium to get the benefits of morphine. We'd love to have marijuana studied as a plant to get it out on the market in a safe way."
Coakley's office asked the Supreme Judicial Court to dismiss the group's petition on Friday, setting up a hearing next month ahead of ballot printing in July Coakley's drafted ballot question "eliminating state criminal and civil penalties" for medical marijuana users is neutral, said state lawyers, who argued Heilman's group wants to revise the language to kill the proposal.
"The most important thing is to get the right result," said Brad Puffer, a spokesman for the Attorney General's Office, adding the office is working with all parties involved.
John Sofis Scheft, the attorney who filed MPA's petition earlier this month, said voters may not know the law would set up 35 nonprofit marijuana dispensaries, allow for home growing if a dispensary isn't within a reasonable distance of home and allow any approved user to carry a 60-day supply of pot.
"Our position is the voters should know what they're voting for," said Scheft, adding the proposed law doesn't specify the amount of a 60-day supply or the distance parameters for home growing.
Heilman, a Wayland mother of three, also slammed billionaire Peter Lewis for bankrolling the ballot question, saying the out-of-state supporter has no business pushing policy in Massachusetts. Lewis donated $525,000 last year to the Committee for Compassionate Medicine's ballot question efforts. The group raised $526,167 last year, making Lewis, an Ohio native who now lives in Florida, the majority donor.
Lewis told the Herald yesterday: "I have supported various efforts in various states since the early 1990s in my general effort to make the laws surrounding marijuana less punitive and less hypocritical."
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: bostonherald.com
Author: Erin Smith
Contact: Contact Us - BostonHerald.com
Website: Medical marijuana opponents fight AG on ballot question - BostonHerald.com
"We believe the language is misleading. We will be educating the voters about the realities of this legislation and how harmful it will be," said Heidi Heilman, president and founder of Massachusetts Prevention Alliance, who said the proposal is vague and lacks oversight. "You don't have to smoke opium to get the benefits of morphine. We'd love to have marijuana studied as a plant to get it out on the market in a safe way."
Coakley's office asked the Supreme Judicial Court to dismiss the group's petition on Friday, setting up a hearing next month ahead of ballot printing in July Coakley's drafted ballot question "eliminating state criminal and civil penalties" for medical marijuana users is neutral, said state lawyers, who argued Heilman's group wants to revise the language to kill the proposal.
"The most important thing is to get the right result," said Brad Puffer, a spokesman for the Attorney General's Office, adding the office is working with all parties involved.
John Sofis Scheft, the attorney who filed MPA's petition earlier this month, said voters may not know the law would set up 35 nonprofit marijuana dispensaries, allow for home growing if a dispensary isn't within a reasonable distance of home and allow any approved user to carry a 60-day supply of pot.
"Our position is the voters should know what they're voting for," said Scheft, adding the proposed law doesn't specify the amount of a 60-day supply or the distance parameters for home growing.
Heilman, a Wayland mother of three, also slammed billionaire Peter Lewis for bankrolling the ballot question, saying the out-of-state supporter has no business pushing policy in Massachusetts. Lewis donated $525,000 last year to the Committee for Compassionate Medicine's ballot question efforts. The group raised $526,167 last year, making Lewis, an Ohio native who now lives in Florida, the majority donor.
Lewis told the Herald yesterday: "I have supported various efforts in various states since the early 1990s in my general effort to make the laws surrounding marijuana less punitive and less hypocritical."
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: bostonherald.com
Author: Erin Smith
Contact: Contact Us - BostonHerald.com
Website: Medical marijuana opponents fight AG on ballot question - BostonHerald.com
