US ATTORNEY ANDREW LELLING has sent a chilling response to calls from pro-pot advocates to clarify his stance on marijuana prosecution in Massachusetts, a message sure to send potential investors […]
Legal marijuana
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
Confusion reigns in states with legal pot
THE ONE THING that is certain with the change in enforcement of federal marijuana laws is that there will be no uniform approach to enforcement by US attorneys in states […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Sessions turns back pot clock
ATTORNEY GENERAL JEFF SESSIONS has thrown the emerging legal marijuana industry into turmoil by rescinding an Obama-era memorandum that ordered the Justice Department to ignore enforcing federal drug laws in […]
Posted inThe Download
Pot rollout tentative in Cali
Retail pot stores began opening across California on New Year’s Day, at least six months ahead of Massachusetts even though voters in both states approved the legalization of recreational marijuana at […]
Posted inUncategorized
Pot board finds a home
SALT AND PEPPER. Hammer and nail. Bacon and eggs. Crimson and clover. Yin and yang. Pot and gambling. All things that apparently go together in many people’s minds. The Massachusetts […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service
Rosenberg: We’re not done with pot
SENATE PRESIDENT STANLEY ROSENBERG said the recreational marijuana law will continue to evolve and he foresees the Legislature making several changes a year. “We created a joint standing committee because […]
Posted inThe Download
On pot, just say yes and no
While no one is yet declaring the wall of opposition to the retail sale of recreational marijuana has been demolished, there are a few cracks beginning to appear that are […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Pot board wants $5 million more
THE STATE’S CANNABIS Control Commission has asked lawmakers for another $5.2 million for the remainder of the fiscal year on top of the $2.3 million that was already set aside […]
Posted inPolitics
Amazon vs. marijuana
WHEN A CHICOPEE woman won the record-setting Powerball jackpot in August, lost in the cacophony were the two $1 million winning tickets sold in Dorchester and Watertown. Despite the disappointment […]
Posted inPolitics
New pot czar is known quantity
A TOP AIDE to state Treasurer Deborah Goldberg who fashioned the regulatory infrastructure for the nascent retail marijuana business when that office was set to oversee the emerging industry has […]
Posted inPolitics
Islanders want their pot, too
THE “LISTENING TOUR” by the board charged with regulating the state’s emerging marijuana industry landed on Martha’s Vineyard Tuesday, where the two members heard pleas from pro-pot advocates to help […]
Posted inUncategorized
Pot board taps chair as interim director
THE MAIN ORDER of business Tuesday in the Cannabis Control Commission’s first-ever public hearing was to install an interim executive director and the board didn’t look far – Chairman Steven […]
Posted inThe Download
Come clean on pot use
The Cannabis Control Commission met for the first time on Monday, and two of the five members refused to say whether they had ever smoked pot. Commissioners Jennifer Flanagan, a […]
Posted inThe Download
The Codcast: New pot czar a breath of fresh air
Steven Hoffman was successful at just about everything he did during his long business management career but, even by his own admission, his latest venture was proving difficult to master. […]
Posted inPolitics
New pot czar has inhaled
DESPITE VOTING AGAINST the referendum to legalize marijuana last November, Steven Hoffman, the chairman of the new state board charged with regulating the nascent retail pot industry, said he thinks […]
Posted inPolitics
Majority of pot board opposed referendum
THE NEW CANNABIS Control Commission is now complete but, with the appointment of yet two more members who voted against the ballot question to legalize marijuana, the panel has a […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Walsh, once an opponent, welcomes pot
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh was among the most vocal opponents of the ballot question to legalize marijuana and, once it passed, complained that Massachusetts cities would become the default centers […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Ballot opponent to head legal pot commission
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A RETIRED BUSINESS executive and former Bain and Company partner who voted against the referendum to legalize marijuana has been tapped by Treasurer Deborah Goldberg to […]
Posted inThe Download
What’s Amazon up to?
Amazon slashed the prices of a handful of items at its just-acquired Whole Foods chain, a move that garnered loads of publicity but shed little light on the online retailing […]
Posted inThe Download
Grateful for the generals
A hallmark of American democracy has always been that a civilian, the president, is the ultimate commander in chief of the armed forces. It is perhaps the strongest signal we […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Baker taps pot foe for cannabis control board
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE SEN. JENNIFER FLANAGAN, a Leominster Democrat, has become the first of five members of the powerful new Cannabis Control Commission, tapped by Gov. Charlie Baker to […]
Posted inThe Download
Smart money in Massachusetts
Back in 1990, during his run for governor, John Silber made the somewhat controversial observation that not everyone is college material and those folks would be better off focusing on […]
Posted inThe Download
How many white supremacists at rally?
An estimated 40,000 people turned out on Saturday to say no to hate, racism, and neo-Nazis, but it remains unclear how many of the 50 people at the free speech […]