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House of Representatives
State House, Boston, MA 02133-1054
BRADLEY H. JONES, JR.
STATE REPRESENTATIVE
MINORITY LEADER
8 election and December 15, the day Question 4 will take effect. Fatal road crashes involving marijuana
doubled after legalization in Washington. Massachusetts does not need to be the first to test out the new
technology or determine what the appropriate legal limit is when we are quite literally dealing with a
matter of life or death on our roadways.
Under Question 4, there will be no limit on the number of marijuana dispensaries in Massachusetts or on
the number of operations used to grow or manufacture marijuana and marijuana products. Existing
medical marijuana facilities will have the right to enter the recreational market at the same location, and
if state regulations are not in place by January 1, 2018, medical marijuana shops can automatically begin
selling recreational marijuana, without regulation or a license. Colorado currently has more pot shops
that Starbucks and McDonalds combined. If Question 4 passes, you can be sure that main streets across
Massachusetts will undergo a similar transformation and look far different than they do today.
Question 4 not only limits municipalities ability to regulate and control marijuana dispensaries, but it
also contains a legal loophole allowing the industry to challenge any state or local rule deemed to be
unreasonably impractical. The only way a community will be able to prevent recreational marijuana
sales is to hold a town-wide referendum to opt-out. Cities and towns will also be barred from imposing
any registration, licensing or zoning requirements to restrict the home-growing of marijuana in private
residences. Instead, up to 12 full-size plants will automatically be allowed in any two-person household,
enough to produce over 500 joints valued at more than $60,000.
Question 4 is not what it looks like. It is a wolf in sheeps clothing that has drawn wide-ranging
bipartisan opposition, even among those who support legalization. If legalization of marijuana for
recreational use is something that you support, Question 4 is not the way to do it. Lets learn from the
experiences in other states before we move forward with a deeply flawed proposal. Question 4 is a
mistake; it is a mistake that our taxpayers, our cities and towns, our schools, and our children cant
afford for us to make.
State Representative Bradley H. Jones, Jr. (R-North Reading) serves as the House Minority Leader in
Massachusetts. He represents the 20th Middlesex District which includes the towns of Reading, North
Reading, Lynnfield, and Middleton.