Boston City Councilors, State Legislators Align Behind Recreational Marijuana Referendum

BOSTON, MA — Boston City Council President Michelle Wu joined a small chorus of political supporters Wednesday on the State House steps in support of a referendum that would legalize recreational marijuana in Massachusetts.

"It just seems ridiculous that kids at Harvard can smoke pot and have incredibly successful careers while blacks and Latinos, particularly men and boys, who are using the same substance are sent to jail," Wu reportedly said at the conference. "It doesn’t make sense for our criminal justice system. It doesn’t make sense for our economy."

Joining her was fellow council member Tito Jackson, Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse, and state Rep. David Rogers (D-Cambridge), adding to the cadre of establishment support for the "Yes on Question 4" referendum push.

"Marijuana- I don't believe is a gateway drug. Percocet is a gateway drug- I believe, and there is a CVS down the street where you can go get it," Jackson said Wednesday, according to FOX 25, casting the illegality of recreational marijuana as a contributing factor to the disproportionate incarceration of blacks and Latinos.

Arrayed on the other side is a formidable bank of prominent endorsements, including Gov. Charlie Baker, top leaders from both houses of the state Legislature, and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. Walsh and Baker are at the helm of a push against the referendum, through the Campaign for a Safe and Healthy Massachusetts.

In the legislature, ten lawmakers have endorsed the referendum, according to the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, which is backing the measure.

In addition to Rogers, a campaign press release said, those legislators are: Sen. Will Brownsberger (D-Belmont), Rep. Marjorie C. Decker (D-Cambridge), Rep. Tom Sannicandro (D-Framingham), Sen. Pat Jehlen (D-Cambridge), Sen. Jamie Eldridge (D-Acton), Rep. Michael Moran (D-Brighton), Rep. Jay Livingstone (D-Boston), Rep. Brian Mannal (D-Centerville) and Rep. Mary Keefe (D-Worcester).

Around the corner from the endorsement press conference Wednesday at the State House, Boston's first medical marijuana dispensary was preparing to open. It's the outcome of a 2012 referendum legalizing medical marijuana in the state of Massachusetts. Four years later, that Boston location is one of only seven operating in the state.

>> Photo via @RegulateMass