Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
Governor Charlie Baker on Friday appointed five people the state's Cannabis Advisory Board, a group of experts who will help regulators draw up detailed rules and policies for the forthcoming recreational marijuana industry.
Under revisions to last year's marijuana ballot initiative that were passed by the state Legislature and signed by Baker in July, the governor was required to name an expert in minority business development and another in the "economic development of under-resourced communities," plus three people to represent the interests of farmers, employers, and municipal law enforcement agencies, respectively.
Baker, who campaigned against the Question 4 ballot measure and reiterated his opposition even as he signed the bill last month, appeared to send a message with his choice for the law enforcement position: Walpole Police Chief John Carmichael Jr.
Carmichael is a vocal opponent of marijuana use. In 2012, just before Massachusetts voters backed the creation a regulated medical marijuana program, he told the Globe it would be "illogical" to think licensed medical dispensaries "will not be fronts for illegal distribution and money-laundering." He has since served as the police community's liaison to the state's medical marijuana program.
His public campaigning in uniform against Question 4 in 2016 prompted protests from the initiative's backers, and after the ballot question passed with 1.8 million votes, he told the Walpole Times he was "heartbroken."
Attorney General Maura Healey and state Treasurer Deborah Goldberg have also appointed five members each to the advisory board, which includes another 10 members from various interest groups named in the law, such as medical marijuana patients.
The board's 25 positions are unpaid and come with no real authority. Nonetheless, its members are expected to wield significant influence over how regulators implement the new law.
To represent minority business development, Baker picked Kim Napoli, a labor and employment attorney who also co-founded the Hempest retail shop in Harvard Square.
Mary Ann Pesce, a retired Gillette and Procter & Gamble executive who now advises start-up companies and serves on the boards of several Boston-area institutions, was Baker's choice to represent employers.
The governor also tapped Lydia Sisson, who co-founded Lowell's "Mill City Grows" urban food production and sustainability initiative, to be the voice of agricultural interests, and longtime Urban League of Springfield leader Henry M. Thomas III to advocate for low-income communities.
Among the topics the law directs the advisory board to study are regulations on the labeling and serving sizes of marijuana edibles, consumer concerns, plant-tracking systems, market stability, and programs to encourage the participation of women, minorities, and veterans in the industry.
The advisory board will report to a new five-member Cannabis Control Commission that will directly regulate licensed marijuana businesses.
Baker, Goldberg, and Healey are required to name those five paid commissioners by Sept. 1. The commissioners will then hire the fledgling agency's executive director, who in turn will appoint enforcement officers, administrative staffers, and other state workers.
Baker missed by several days an Aug. 1 deadline for appointing his advisory board members. The short delay is of little consequence – the board has no one to advise until next month anyway – but pro-marijuana advocates are worried such setbacks will come to characterize officials' rollout of the recreational industry over the next year.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Baker picks for marijuana advisory board include anti-pot police chief - The Boston Globe
Author: Dan Adams
Contact: Support Home Page
Photo Credit: Jonathan Wiggs
Website: The Boston Globe
Under revisions to last year's marijuana ballot initiative that were passed by the state Legislature and signed by Baker in July, the governor was required to name an expert in minority business development and another in the "economic development of under-resourced communities," plus three people to represent the interests of farmers, employers, and municipal law enforcement agencies, respectively.
Baker, who campaigned against the Question 4 ballot measure and reiterated his opposition even as he signed the bill last month, appeared to send a message with his choice for the law enforcement position: Walpole Police Chief John Carmichael Jr.
Carmichael is a vocal opponent of marijuana use. In 2012, just before Massachusetts voters backed the creation a regulated medical marijuana program, he told the Globe it would be "illogical" to think licensed medical dispensaries "will not be fronts for illegal distribution and money-laundering." He has since served as the police community's liaison to the state's medical marijuana program.
His public campaigning in uniform against Question 4 in 2016 prompted protests from the initiative's backers, and after the ballot question passed with 1.8 million votes, he told the Walpole Times he was "heartbroken."
Attorney General Maura Healey and state Treasurer Deborah Goldberg have also appointed five members each to the advisory board, which includes another 10 members from various interest groups named in the law, such as medical marijuana patients.
The board's 25 positions are unpaid and come with no real authority. Nonetheless, its members are expected to wield significant influence over how regulators implement the new law.
To represent minority business development, Baker picked Kim Napoli, a labor and employment attorney who also co-founded the Hempest retail shop in Harvard Square.
Mary Ann Pesce, a retired Gillette and Procter & Gamble executive who now advises start-up companies and serves on the boards of several Boston-area institutions, was Baker's choice to represent employers.
The governor also tapped Lydia Sisson, who co-founded Lowell's "Mill City Grows" urban food production and sustainability initiative, to be the voice of agricultural interests, and longtime Urban League of Springfield leader Henry M. Thomas III to advocate for low-income communities.
Among the topics the law directs the advisory board to study are regulations on the labeling and serving sizes of marijuana edibles, consumer concerns, plant-tracking systems, market stability, and programs to encourage the participation of women, minorities, and veterans in the industry.
The advisory board will report to a new five-member Cannabis Control Commission that will directly regulate licensed marijuana businesses.
Baker, Goldberg, and Healey are required to name those five paid commissioners by Sept. 1. The commissioners will then hire the fledgling agency's executive director, who in turn will appoint enforcement officers, administrative staffers, and other state workers.
Baker missed by several days an Aug. 1 deadline for appointing his advisory board members. The short delay is of little consequence – the board has no one to advise until next month anyway – but pro-marijuana advocates are worried such setbacks will come to characterize officials' rollout of the recreational industry over the next year.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Baker picks for marijuana advisory board include anti-pot police chief - The Boston Globe
Author: Dan Adams
Contact: Support Home Page
Photo Credit: Jonathan Wiggs
Website: The Boston Globe
