Sen. Rosenberg (Flickr/Jones Library)
Stan Rosenberg has become the highest-ranking current elected official in Massachusetts to endorse Yes on 4, the ballot question to legalize marijuana:
Senate President Stan Rosenberg says he’s planning to vote for a ballot question that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana in Massachusetts.
The Amherst Democrat said during an interview Thursday on WGBH-FM that he will vote for Question 4 and then try to make improvements to the measure. […]
A poll released Wednesday by WBUR-FM found 55 percent of voters back the ballot question, while 40 percent oppose it.
Other endorsers include former Gov. Bill Weld and Boston City Council President Michelle Wu. Also, Rick Steves!
It’s unfortunate that some Democrats, like House Speaker Robert DeLeo, Attorney General Maura Healey and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, continue to oppose legalization in the face of majority public support. It’s one thing to take a moral stand against popular opinion, but opposing marijuana legalization is both wrong AND unpopular.
Marijuana is less of a health risk than alcohol and tobacco, both of which are legally available to adults. As the Globe has reported, research shows that in the Netherlands, where marijuana is legally sold in cafes, young marijuana smokers are slightly LESS likely to take up harder drugs than their counterparts in the United States and other countries.
Despite “decriminalization” in Massachusetts, statewide arrest rates for marijuana possession were 3.3 times higher for blacks than for whites in 2014, even though research shows blacks and whites use marijuana at similar rates, as the Globe reported.
On the ballot questions, I’m on board with Progressive Massachusetts: No No Yes Yes.
…to get something through the legislature along these lines?
seems like the obvious answer