I'm fairly sure it will not pass, but it's damn good to see other states considering it.
It's being brought to legislation today (the 14th)
The bill:
http://www.mass.gov/legis/bills/house/186/ht02/ht02929.htmThe governor and the representatives of the people of Massachusetts, acknowledging that previous efforts have not succeeded in eliminating or curtailing marijuana use and abuse; determined to exercise some measure of control over the use of cannabis consistent with respect for individual freedom and responsibility; and declaring our objectives to be the reduction of cannabis abuse, the elimination of marijuana-related crime and the raising of public revenue, do hereby ordain and enact The Cannabis Regulation and Taxation Act.
A lot of the regulations are similar to alcohol, such as the age being set at 21 and it being illegal to drive under the influence of it (although I'm not sure how they'd prove it).
Section 9. The authority shall impose and collect an excise upon sales at retail of cannabis. The rate of said excise is hereby established as follows:
Class C One hundred fifty dollar per ounce
Class B Two hundred dollars per ounce.
Class A Two hundred fifty dollars per ounce.
Kinda ridiculous, BUT:
Subject to approval by the general court, such excise shall be adjusted by the authority from time to time as necessary to maximize the revenue derived therefrom, and to minimize the incentive for the sale of cannabis not in accordance with the provisions of this act.
They did put in the bill that the courts can alter the taxes to maximize revenue if it is still being sold "illegally" because of the tax rate.
A cultivation license shall be exercisable in one place only. The annual fee for a cultivation license shall be $500.
Not bad. I think a lot of people would purchase it simply for personal use, and due to it being legal to sell as long as it's not a "gratuitous" amount. They didn't specify at what point would sale be considered gratuitous though...
g. All cannabis sold by processors shall be analyzed and graded as follows:
(1) If said cannabis contains more than 1% THC and less than 5% THC, then said cannabis shall be labeled “Câ€.
(2) If the cannabis contains 5% or more than 5% and less than 10% THC, then said cannabis shall be labeled “Bâ€.
(3) If the cannabis contains 10% THC or more, then said cannabis shall be labeled “Aâ€.
heh
r. The authority may issue research licenses for a bona fide conduct of medical, social, behavioral or other research, upon such conditions and terms as the authority may prescribe consistent with the objectives of this act.
Cool, since the government rarely allows research on it unless it's funded by them and thus reflects their bias...
Section 16. Sale or distribution of cannabis by vending machine or similar automation is prohibited.
That would have been interesting...
This document was truncated here because it was created using Aspose.Words in Evaluation Mode.
Heh, not sure if there was more to it.
It's a fairly thorough and well-written bill, and discusses a lot of shit I wouldn't have thought of, like what happens to the license if the holder dies (the spouse can use it for 30 days).
I know it won't pass, but good to see states starting to consider it.