By Mike Crawford
There are some things that opponents of the marijuana
regulation initiative in Massachusetts don’t want to talk about. They’re
not interested in addressing how the commercial alcohol industry
bankrolls their cause and fills the campaign piggy banks of elected
officials. Nor will prohibitionists answer for apparent election and
ethics law violations being committed by influential Question 4 (marijuana legalization) opponents, or the lies that have been used to artificially buttress their position.
At the forefront of this deceit and dirty dealing is the Campaign for a Safe and Healthy Massachusetts,
a bipartisan coalition including such honchos as Governor Charlie
Baker, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, Attorney General Maura Healey, and
Speaker of the House Robert Deleo.
Despite all of the deceptions and
shortcomings, the anti- effort has been given a pass by most commercial
news outlets. As the vote for legalization approaches, however, it is
important to acknowledge the devil in some oppositional details.
The Money
While
attempting to scare people about the harm of a commercial marijuana
industry, the Safe and Healthy campaign has collected a sizable war
chest that is partially funded by the alcohol industry, according to
campaign finance reports. Beer Distributors of Massachusetts contributed
at least $25,000, while Wine & Spirit Wholesalers of Mass one-upped
even them with a $50,000 gift.
Then there are the
individual beneficiaries.
Republican State Rep. Hannah Kane of
Shrewsbury, for example, who has campaigned at events against Question
4, has accepted at least $2,500 in contributions from individuals at
Austin Liquors, a chain with four stores in her area.
The
same benefactors have been contributing to war chests for more than a
decade, including that of Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, whose campaign has
received at least $9,000 from individuals at Austin Liquors, not to
mention more than $11,000 from executives at Horizon Beverage Group, a
regional wholesaler of beers, wines, and spirits.
The
list of these relationships includes Gov. Baker, who has taken more than
double that amount from Horizon, as well as other noted Question 4
adversaries like State Rep. Todd Smola, Speaker Deleo, and State senators Richard Ross and Vinny deMacedo.
Also
funding the anti- side is SAM Action, a Virginia-based propaganda
outfit founded by former Congressman Patrick Kennedy, George W. Bush
insider and speechwriter David Frum, and proven prohibitionist liar Kevin Sabet. They pitched in $25,000, while the establishment Massachusetts Medical Society/New England Journal of Medicine
kicked in $10,000. It should be acknowledged that said medical
society’s affiliate, Physician Health Services, is still run by Dr.
Steven Adelman, who once blamed the Boston Marathon bombing on marijuana withdrawal.
Then
there’s the old-fashioned influence-buying. The Cronin Group of Boston
also gave $25,000 to Safe and Healthy—in the beginning of July, right
before the company’s controversial $100 million-plus development won
approval from the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA). The BRA (since
re-branded as the Boston Planning and Development Agency) is known to be
heavily influenced by City Hall, and to not fairly represent Boston
residents.
The Cronin Group's proposed Seaport tower, for example miraculously won BRA approval despite the fact that in may be in violation of state environmental laws. Anyone who finds that interesting may also want to check out the relationship between the Walsh administration and the Markley Group, which gave Safe and Healthy nearly a quarter of its haul, writing a $100,000 check.
The Crimes
“The
Needham Department of Health has been re-tweeting messages from the
opposition campaign to Question 4, using their influence as a public
municipal department to influence voters," says Eric Casey of 4Front
Ventures, a cannabis investment firm. "Using a government social media
account to influence voters to vote a certain way on ballot initiatives
is a clear violation of state ethics law.”
Casey is
correct. But when confronted about these actions, health workers from
Needham claimed that they are only “educating” the public. But that's an
odd stance to take, given that the American Public Health Association
recently came out in support of regulating marijuana, calling for “a
public health approach to regulating and controlling commercially
legalized marijuana and urges that regulation of legalized marijuana be
viewed as a public health priority.”
There
have been many other instances of public officials using their
influence and taxpayer resources to oppose a ballot initiative that was
put in place by the people of Massachusetts. As previously reported, the
Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol filed a state ethics complaint
regarding the actions of Walpole Police Chief John Carmichael, who
appeared at an anti-Question 4 event in full police uniform driving his
marked police car. Carmichael claimed his appearance was not a violation
as it was purely “educational,” and not political.
And
he showed off some marijuana edibles. Asked about the legality of the
possessing and transporting edibles from Colorado, Carmichael has said
he is simply using a “law enforcement display.”
But were they legally imported? Furthermore, who purchased them?And who covered the cost of the purchases? Carmichael has thus far not responded to questions about the items beyond a few initial twitter responses, including, “you might want to get your facts straight before publishing something that is untrue. I’ll be in touch”—a tweet he soon deleted.
We’ve
since learned from three attendees that at one of his “educational”
campaign stops, this one before the Massachusetts Municipal Association
which represents town government interests, Carmichael publicly
announced that, because the odor of marijuana was noticeable, he had to
explain to someone at the airport—presumably to a TSA employee—that he
was a law enforcement officer when traveling home with the goods from
Colorado.
In another edible offense, although of a different nature, Dr. Kevin Sabet recently showed up at a PBS-hosted forum to speak against Question 4, and in the process lied to the audience about the psychoactive nature of candies in his possession. Predictably, the local Fox affiliate botched the story, making it appear that stoners had stolen the drugs to get high and not to expose hypocrisy and possible criminal activity.
The Lies
Let's start with the voter guide. Sam Tracy of 4Front Advisors has created a Change.org petition declaring that" “Every election year, the Massachusetts state government sends out an official Voter Guide.
This is supposed to be a balanced, non-biased document to help voters
understand the important issues facing our state.
But Governor Charlie
Baker, tasked with drafting the “statement of fiscal consequences” for
each ballot question, wrote a terribly biased statement
about the economic impact of Question 4, which would legalize and
regulate marijuana for adults over 21. This is wrong and must be
corrected.”
Baker's statement misleads, warning voters
that “Tax revenues and fees that would be generated from legal sales may
fall short of even covering the full public and social costs.” However,
the report this is quoted from was authored by state Sen. Jason Lewis, one of the main opponents of Question 4.
This low-quality report was actually described by Lewis’ own chief of staff as an “amateur economic effort” with “back-of-the-envelope-type calculations,” yet here it is being presented to voters.
“Never mind that the information contradicts the reality in states like Colorado,
where revenues are paying not just for marijuana regulation, but for
school construction, drug abuse prevention programs, and more,” Tracy
pointed out.
On a recent “Ask the Governor” segment on
WGBH's Boston Public Radio, after having acknowledged his commercial
alcohol industry ties and contributions, Baker was asked if he thinks
alcohol is safer than cannabis. Predictably, the governor refused to
answer, never mentioning alcohol once in his response, and instead
expounding on his fears of a commercial cannabis market.
No surprise
there, as there are just some things that prohibitionists in Mass aren’t
willing to talk about.
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