TAX POT?

Voters in a number of Valley communities will have the opportunity to
weigh in on some important marijuana-related issues on the Nov. 2 ballot.

The state Elections Division has confirmed that four public policy
questions supported by the marijuana reform group MassCann will be on
the ballot in certain legislative districts, where organizers managed
to collect the required number of petition signatures.

While public policy questions are non-binding, they can serve as a
useful way to gauge public sentiment on an issue, and to make it
clear to legislators what issues matter to their constituents.

One of the approved questions directly addresses the issue of
legalization, asking voters: "Shall the State Representative from
this district be instructed to vote in favor of legislation that
would allow the state to regulate and tax marijuana like alcohol?" In
the Valley, that question will be on the ballot in the 1st Franklin
district--where the current representative, Democrat Steve Kulik, is
running unopposed--and in the 3rd Hampshire district, where incumbent
Democrat Ellen Story will face Republican Daniel Sandell and Dan
Melick, an independent candidate whose platform includes the
legalization of pot for medical, personal and industrial use. Another
legalization question will be on the ballot in certain eastern Mass.
communities only.

In addition, some Valley voters will be asked to weigh in on the
issue of medical marijuana. In the 1st Hampden district--where
incumbent Todd Smola, a Republican, is running unopposed--voters will
be asked: "Shall the state representative from this district be
instructed to vote in favor of legislation that that would allow
patients with their doctor's written recommendation, to possess,
grow, and purchase marijuana for medical use?" A similar question on
medical marijuana will also be on the ballot in a number of districts
in the eastern half of the state.

Pot-reform supporters were not able to get public policy questions on
the ballot in as many districts as initially hoped. But reformers
here, and across the country, have their eyes trained on California,
where a statewide question, Proposition 19, would legalize marijuana
possession and growth for private consumption, and allow the sale of
marijuana with government regulation and taxation. A number of polls
taken in recent months show that the majority of California voters
support Proposition 19; if it does pass, activists in other parts of
the country will likely try to ride that momentum with legislation in
their own states.