Voters in a number of Valley communities will have the opportunity to weigh in on some important marijuana-related issues on the Nov. 2 ballot.
The state Elections Division has confirmed that four public policy questions supported by the marijuana reform group MassCann will be on the ballot in certain legislative districts, where organizers managed to collect the required number of petition signatures.
While public policy questions are non-binding, they can serve as a useful way to gauge public sentiment on an issue, and to make it clear to legislators what issues matter to their constituents.
One of the approved questions directly addresses the issue of legalization, asking voters: “Shall the State Representative from this district be instructed to vote in favor of legislation that would allow the state to regulate and tax marijuana like alcohol?” In the Valley, that question will be on the ballot in the 1st Franklin district—where the current representative, Democrat Steve Kulik, is running unopposed—and in the 3rd Hampshire district, where incumbent Democrat Ellen Story will face Republican Daniel Sandell and Dan Melick, an independent candidate whose platform includes the legalization of pot for medical, personal and industrial use. Another legalization question will be on the ballot in certain eastern Mass. communities only.
In addition, some Valley voters will be asked to weigh in on the issue of medical marijuana. In the 1st Hampden district—where incumbent Todd Smola, a Republican, is running unopposed—voters will be asked: “Shall the state representative from this district be instructed to vote in favor of legislation that that would allow patients with their doctor’s written recommendation, to possess, grow, and purchase marijuana for medical use?” A similar question on medical marijuana will also be on the ballot in a number of districts in the eastern half of the state.
Pot-reform supporters were not able to get public policy questions on the ballot in as many districts as initially hoped. But reformers here, and across the country, have their eyes trained on California, where a statewide question, Proposition 19, would legalize marijuana possession and growth for private consumption, and allow the sale of marijuana with government regulation and taxation. A number of polls taken in recent months show that the majority of California voters support Proposition 19; if it does pass, activists in other parts of the country will likely try to ride that momentum with legislation in their own states.
