Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
The broader legalization of marijuana and the upcoming start of retail sales could lead to an evolution of the state's medical marijuana program, Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders said Thursday.
Four years after approving medicinal marijuana at the ballot, voters in November backed a referendum legalizing the use and possession of marijuana by people 21 and older, and sales are set to begin next year.
The ballot question kept medical use of marijuana, which is overseen by the Department of Public Health, separate from the retail structure it created. It gave Treasurer Deborah Goldberg authority over the new retail industry, a setup lawmakers may modify under legislation that's being developed.
Sudders said in a Boston Herald Radio interview that legalization could have impacts on medical marijuana, potentially by driving down prices, and that Massachusetts should look to states that have already implemented retail sales.
"I think we're going to evolve," she said. "I think as recreational marijuana is implemented in Massachusetts, I think that will raise questions about do you bring medical and recreation together, is there a need for bringing them together (or) keeping them separate?"
Sudders said that on a trip to Colorado with other social workers, she visited marijuana stores to see how retail operations are handled in that state.
"There are recreational and medicinal marijuana shops," she said. "You go in one door and take a right and go into the recreational side and a left to go into the medicinal side."
Eleven registered dispensaries in Massachusetts are providing patients with medical marijuana.
The ballot law specifies that state regulators cannot "prohibit a medical marijuana treatment center and an experienced marijuana establishment operator from operating a medical marijuana treatment center and a marijuana establishment at a shared location."
Under current law, if regulations governing retail sales are not promulgated by July 1, 2018, licensed medical marijuana companies would automatically be become eligible to sell marijuana to anyone 21 or older.
The Legislature's new Marijuana Policy Committee plans to recommend changes to the law by next month.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Sudders sees marijuana industry evolving in wake of voter laws | Local News | newburyportnews.com
Author: Katie Lannan
Contact: Contact Us | Site | newburyportnews.com
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: newburyportnews.com | Greater Newburyport's local news source
Four years after approving medicinal marijuana at the ballot, voters in November backed a referendum legalizing the use and possession of marijuana by people 21 and older, and sales are set to begin next year.
The ballot question kept medical use of marijuana, which is overseen by the Department of Public Health, separate from the retail structure it created. It gave Treasurer Deborah Goldberg authority over the new retail industry, a setup lawmakers may modify under legislation that's being developed.
Sudders said in a Boston Herald Radio interview that legalization could have impacts on medical marijuana, potentially by driving down prices, and that Massachusetts should look to states that have already implemented retail sales.
"I think we're going to evolve," she said. "I think as recreational marijuana is implemented in Massachusetts, I think that will raise questions about do you bring medical and recreation together, is there a need for bringing them together (or) keeping them separate?"
Sudders said that on a trip to Colorado with other social workers, she visited marijuana stores to see how retail operations are handled in that state.
"There are recreational and medicinal marijuana shops," she said. "You go in one door and take a right and go into the recreational side and a left to go into the medicinal side."
Eleven registered dispensaries in Massachusetts are providing patients with medical marijuana.
The ballot law specifies that state regulators cannot "prohibit a medical marijuana treatment center and an experienced marijuana establishment operator from operating a medical marijuana treatment center and a marijuana establishment at a shared location."
Under current law, if regulations governing retail sales are not promulgated by July 1, 2018, licensed medical marijuana companies would automatically be become eligible to sell marijuana to anyone 21 or older.
The Legislature's new Marijuana Policy Committee plans to recommend changes to the law by next month.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Sudders sees marijuana industry evolving in wake of voter laws | Local News | newburyportnews.com
Author: Katie Lannan
Contact: Contact Us | Site | newburyportnews.com
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: newburyportnews.com | Greater Newburyport's local news source
