“Law enforcement leaders join coalition working to protect legal marijuana”
The following is via the Committee to Protect Cannabis Regulation, the main formal registered opposition group countering the repeal effort statewide …
The No on 8: Stop the Repeal Campaign announced the endorsement of Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), adding the voice of public safety leaders to the growing coalition of public health officials, labor groups, small business owners and advocates fighting to protect the Commonwealth’s legal cannabis law.
Repealing the regulation of marijuana for adult use would mean returning control of the product to illicit markets, which would have serious economic and public safety impacts across our state. Today’s endorsement underscores the importance of keeping cannabis safe and regulated under current state law.
“Since legalization, Massachusetts has implemented strict laws that keep cannabis sales within a regulated and age-gated system with product testing from seed to sale. We should not be pushing consumers toward sellers with no age checks, product standards or oversight,” said Stop the Repeal Chairperson Ryan Dominguez.
“We are grateful to have the support of Law Enforcement Action Partnership in helping us to defeat this damaging ballot question that threatens public safety. Massachusetts voters made their voices clear when they chose to legalize marijuana a decade ago, and we cannot allow out-of-state groups to come into the Commonwealth to repeal this law and threaten the safety of our residents.”
In the last decade, Massachusetts has built a system that prioritizes public health, consumer safety, responsible regulation, and equitable opportunities. Under current regulations, licensed businesses must verify age, test and label products, use child-resistant packaging, track inventory, maintain security, submit to inspections, and conduct recalls when necessary. In addition, owners and workers pass background checks and stores must check IDs twice on camera.
“Police officers should be focused on serious crime, not arresting people for cannabis transactions that are currently legal and regulated in Massachusetts,” said Lt. Diane Goldstein (Ret.), Executive Director of Law Enforcement Action Partnership. “Repealing legalization wouldn’t eliminate demand for marijuana, or keep people from selling, consuming, or driving impaired. It would simply push control of the market into illicit channels, empowering criminal actors and creating new public health and safety risks.”
LEAP joins a broad and growing coalition of businesses, advocates, community leaders and voters committed to defeating repeal efforts. You can learn more about efforts to keep regulated recreational marijuana legal in Massachusetts here.
