MASSACHUSETTS: Recreational Pot Use Now Legal

The Associated Press reports:

Having spent nearly three decades crusading for relaxed marijuana laws in Massachusetts, Bill Downing is greeting the state’s new recreational marijuana law with a mix of satisfaction and trepidation.

The voter-approved measure took effect on Thursday, making it legal for adults to possess, grow and use limited amounts of pot. “I am both celebrating and worrying that the law might not be implemented properly,” said Downing, member liaison for the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition.

The concerns of Downing and other activists stem from public statements by Democratic legislative leaders and Republican Gov. Charlie Baker promising a review and possible changes to the ballot measure, which passed last month by a margin of more than 240,000 votes out of nearly 3.8 million total votes cast.

“The only limitation is how willing they are to tread on the will of their constituents,” said Downing of lawmakers. Massachusetts is the first U.S. state on the eastern seaboard where recreational marijuana is legal, though Maine will soon follow if a recount upholds passage of a ballot measure there.