WESTFIELD–Even though Massachusetts voters chose to legalize recreational marijuana last week, city officials are uncertain when, how or even if the drug will find its way into shops any time soon.
As the Commonwealth attempts to formulate legislation after question four was passed last week, it is clear that municipalities will have control over some portions of implementation. For city officials though, there are a lot of unknowns and some fear about the implementation and existence of legalized marijuana, which could delay its appearance in the Whip City.
“I think there’s a lot of unknowns with the question itself and it will be a learning process for a lot of municipalities and police departments,” Mayor Brian Sullivan said about the enforcement of question four. “I talked to the police chief and it’s going to be very difficult to manage.”
Indeed, enforcement has become a concern for municipalities, as some worry that marijuana could lead to impaired driving and other drug problems. And as the opiate crisis continues to impact the area, politicians on both sides of the aisle are finding themselves against legalizing marijuana. Two such politicans–Sen. Don Humason, a republican, and Sullivan, a democrat–have their roots and their decision-making abilities tied to Westfield.
Mayor Brian Sullivan
“I was a big no on that question,” Sullivan said about question four. “Having dealt with the opiate crisis right now I couldn’t imagine legalizing marijuana and all the stories and statistics we have seen about recreational drugs like marijuana becoming addictive.”
Similarly Humason, in a prior interview with Westfield News, voiced his concerns about the legalization of marijuana.
“It would drive business out of cities, it would cause increased driving under the influence, it would increase opiate addiction,” Humason said. “I think there will be a lot of buyer’s remorse if it’s legalized.”
Sen. Humason
In addition to political opposition, the implementation also faces the fear of the unknown.
In an effort to find answers, one may suggest turning to medical marijuana facilities to see how it has impacted the community, but they can’t. In spite of medical marijuana being passed by voters in 2012, there are still no Westfield facilities, and just one facility has been OKed, which was in March of this year.
This lack of timely implementation though, may also be a sign of things to come for recreational marijuana shops in Westfield.
“Given what happened with medical marijuana, it will take a long time,” Jay Vinskey, city planner said.
Vinskey said that since medical marijuana took over a year to come to fruition, it is likely that recreational marijuana will take at least as long.
Vinskey also said that in spite of what the legislation said on the question, the state will likely look to tighten regulations. This could mean that in spite of how it was written on the ballot, there may be modifications and additional regulations that will make it more difficult to implement or for businesses to gain licensure to sell the drug.
Under the new law, which goes into effect on Dec. 15, 2016, those over 21 can possess up to an ounce of marijuana, as well as have up to six marijuana plants in their residence. Additionally, marijuana retailers could open as soon as 2018 but as Vinskey said, state officials will have ultimate determination as to this implementation.
So while some may be high on the idea of recreational marijuana in the city, the buzz may be a bit harshed for a while.
