(MA) Anti-Prohibition Committee Wants Massachusetts to Legalize Marijuana By 2016

Last edited Sun Nov 10, 2013, 05:10 PM - Edit history (1)

Medical marijuana dispensaries haven’t yet opened up in Massachusetts, but pot advocates are trying to keep the momentum of voter support going and are pushing for the legalization of the drug in the next three years.

Bay State Repeal, a state ballot question committee dedicated to doing away with marijuana prohibition, filed the necessary paperwork with the state’s Office of Campaign and Political Finance last week to organize their efforts.

Led by “local veteran advocates for marijuana law reform,” with experience with state politics, the group is getting a head start on their proposal to repeal marijuana prohibition laws. “With voter attitude evolving rapidly and the deadline for filing over 21 months away, the exact wording of the proposed initiative is a work in progress,” according to a statement from the group.

Their website has not been fully set up yet, however, it directs people to a landing page with the group’s mission statement. The campaign committee is focused on constructing the country’s “simplest and least restrictive plan for marijuana law reform,” they said.

To do that, Bay State Repeal will create a ballot question and put it before voters during the next presidential election in 2016.

To test the waters, members of the committee will try to get a non-binding referendum on the 2014 ballot, gauging voters’ feelings about legalizing the drug. The decision to formulate the language for a binding ballot question to end marijuana prohibition will be based on that feedback. “This has been in the planning for many years,” said William Downing, treasurer of the new committee.

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2013/11/08/bay-state-repeal-ballot-legalize-marijuana-by-2016/