Massachusetts Activists Hit Misleading State Ballot Guide

Pro pot advocates in Massachusetts are cheesed about the state’s November ballot guide.

Legalization in the form of Question 4 is before voters November 8. The problematic part of the voter’s guide is where the official description of the law estimates its administrative costs.

From MassLive.com, a news website serving western Massachusetts, with emphasis added:

The consequences of passing Question 4 are “difficult to project due to the lack of reliable data,” the budget office’s statement says, and then cites a March 2016 report from a special Beacon Hill committee on marijuana. The report claimed tax revenues and fees generated by legal marijuana sales “may fall short of even covering the full public and social costs.”

The “Yes on 4” group, which argues taxing marijuana could lead to an estimated $100 million in annual revenue for state and local governments, says the Beacon Hill special committee “did not conduct its report with an open-minded approach,” and it was headed by Sen. Jason Lewis, D-Winchester, who has emerged as a top opponent of the ballot question.

Pro-pot advocates quickly noted that other states have easily covered administration costs with marijuana tax revenues—and that’s before the savings in police and jail expenditures previously wasted on persecuting pot users.

Full story here.

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