We’ve gotten used to living inside a strange limbo in terms of marijuana reform. Legalization slowly crawls forward at a state level, but federally it’s completely stuck. And on the business side, growers are having a harder and harder time making a profit due to increased supply and high taxes. All of this is occurring while people continue to consume high amounts of the plant across the country.
Two areas of news in the state of Massachusetts perfectly encapsulate the good and the ugly. On the good side, revenue in the state is growing steadily since 2018, having now surpassed $8 billion. This milestone was hit on June 28, after a record-breaking first half of the year. This means sales in the state aren’t slowing down any time soon.
Then, while sales continue to prosper and rake in hundreds of millions for the state in tax revenue, a ballot initiative is being reviewed now that would recriminalize weed across the state. Any possession between an ounce and two would have no criminal charges and a $100 fine, while all sales of recreational marijuana would no longer be allowed.
This is a long way from reality (it hasn’t even been approved to be on a ballot yet) but this would be the first time that a step backwards like this would happen in the US for marijuana. The ballot measure would need over 74,000 signatures in order to be approved, so we’ll see if that happens.
This is the world we live in. On one hand, marijuana is extremely successful and a part of every day life. On the other, it’s still fighting for its legal existence.
Read the good news at Boston Herald, and the bad news at Marijuana Moment.
