Mass. could be east coast marijuana legalization 'catalyst'
Cannabis legalization will not occur on a federal level in 2016 but will be approved in California next year and approval in Massachusetts could be a "catalyst" for legalization on the East Coast, according to a forecast from a Colorado-based company that makes devices that test the potency of marijuana.
"Currently, the country is too divided on the issue of legalizing cannabis to force a federal mandate," Sage Analytics wrote in a Dec. 22 forecast assembled based on the beliefs of company management. "However, we anticipate that several other large states may adopt legalized adult-use cannabis. Most significant of these would be Massachusetts, which could eventually act as a catalyst to much of the Eastern United States. However, while cannabis will not be federally legalized in the near future, it is our belief that within the next few years the DEA will declassify cannabis as a Schedule I drug."
Company officials predict implementation of a regulated marijuana system will face challenges. "We anticipate complications arising when new laws are scheduled to go into effect, and perhaps even some court challenges," company officials said. "Specifically, growers will no longer be able to sell directly to dispensaries, and all product and testing will be done through licensed distributors."
Sage Analytics also predicts that technologies from other industries, including the pharmaceutical and agricultural sectors, will be adopted in the cannabis industry, and testing labs will change "in order to provide quicker, more economical results across a wider spectrum of measurements" including pesticides and molds as well as potencies.
Marijuana legalization advocates in Massachusetts are on track to put a binding initiative petition on the ballot in 2016, a proposal that faces opposition from Gov. Charlie Baker, Attorney General Maura Healey and Boston Mayor Martin Walsh. State senators researching the impact of legalized marijuana are gearing up for a trip to Colorado during the second week of January. The Milbank Memorial Fund is funding the research trip.
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