“We’re talking about dismantling a market designed to create opportunities for people most hurt by the war on drugs.”
As Massachusetts marijuana opponents and advocates alike have come to realize these past few months, slotting a referendum in this state is onerous business.
In addition to having to collect tens of thousands of signatures outside of grocery stores, holding people hostage when they’re just trying to quickly grab some produce, an official campaign committee must file significant paperwork and clear multiple legal and bureaucratic hurdles.
One such step in the manifold initiative grind unfolded this Monday. On Beacon Hill, Mass lawmakers held the required hearing for the proposal to repeal adult-use cannabis in the commonwealth. Put simply, legislators have a chance to pass comparable legislation ahead of a question hitting the actual ballot.
If elected officials don’t act, and it’s unlikely that they will in this matter, the proponents of the prohibitionist measure have to submit fewer than 13,000 additional signatures by July 1. That won’t be hard for a campaign that deployed demonstrably deceitful tactics in order to advance this far in the process.
We’re all over the story. You know this. But since it’s probable at this point that the deceptively named Act To Restore a Sensible Marijuana Policywill appear on the statewide ballot in November, we’re more focused on the campaign’s opponents—and what they have to say—than on the infinite and endless lies pushed by the speciously monikered Coalition for a Healthy Massachusetts.
And so while we will certainly lampoon its rusty toxic cast of gremlins for so many fabrications, we’re also amplifying the voices of reason. Like the testimony below from this week’s hearing formality by Firehouse (Hyde Park) Co-Owner Armani White. (Also read the testimony of Dr. Jeff Rawson, president of the Institute of Cannabis Science, here, and that of Levia Co-Founder & CEO Kristin Rogers here). -TJM Editor Chris Faraone
Armani White remarks to Special Ballot Question Committee re: adult use cannabis repeal:
Thank you, Chair Friedman, Chair Peisch, and members of the Committee, for the opportunity to testify today.
My name is Armani White. I’m a Roxbury native, an Economic Empowerment applicant, co-owner of Firehouse dispensary in Hyde Park, and Policy Co-Chair of Equitable Opportunities Now.
I am here today in strong opposition to this reckless attempt by out-of-state billionaires and dark money special interest groups to destroy my business and hundreds of other local minority-owned small businesses – and the laws, regulations, and programs created a place for equitable economic opportunity in this industry.
Before legalization, I experienced firsthand how cannabis prohibition was weaponized against communities of color to harass residents, tear families apart, and destroy the social and economic fabric of entire neighborhoods.
Both my business partner Sean and I qualified for the state’s Social Equity Program and Economic Empowerment status because we were directly impacted by the War on Drugs—we both have prior marijuana-related arrests. For me, growing up in Roxbury and Jamaica Plain, I also saw how prohibition disproportionately harmed my community, limiting opportunity and criminalizing everyday life.
We didn’t enter this industry with wealth or privilege, we entered through a pathway intentionally created to repair that harm. Today, through Firehouse, we’ve created jobs for local residents, partnered with small and diverse suppliers across Massachusetts, generated tax revenue for the state, and consistently reinvested back into our community.
My business partner and I – and hundreds of other entrepreneurs – would not have a place in this industry if Massachusetts voters hadn’t exercised their will to pass one of the nation’s strongest social justice-focused legalization ballot questions in 2016, and if you and your colleagues hadn’t strengthened that law from 2017 to today.
I’m grateful for the work EON’s founders Shaleen Title and Shanel Lindsay did with you and your colleagues to establish a market that had space for those most impacted by the war on drugs, and proud of our continued collaboration to reinvest cannabis revenue back into communities harmed by the war on drugs, encourage fairness in municipal licensing, and enable unique licensing opportunities that uplifted social equity businesses.
When we talk about repealing the voters’ will, we’re not just talking about forcing consumers to buy untested, unregulated, untaxed products.
We’re talking about dismantling a market designed to create opportunities for people most hurt by the war on drugs – and all of the programs that came with it.
We’re talking about eliminating tens of millions of dollars of investment every year in communities like Roxbury.
And we’re talking about going back to the days when prohibition was weaponized to put people like me in cages.
I urge this Committee and all Massachusetts voters to reject this misguided and dangerous proposal. I’m happy to answer any questions you might have.
