Rep. Turco’s Letter Sways Gov. Baker To Strike Section in Cannabis Equity Bill

Special to the Transcript

Yesterday, S.3096, An Act relative to equity in the cannabis industry, became law in Massachusetts after receiving the Governor’s signature. However, upon receiving a letter from Representative Jeffrey Rosario Turco (D-Winthrop), Governor Baker decided to remove a certain section before giving the bill his final blessing.

Section 26 of S.3096 had been of paramount concern to Rep. Turco from the second he first read it. In sum, this section called for the funding of a study which would determine the benefits of allowing students, potentially even elementary schoolers, to consume medical marijuana during the school-day. Parts IV and V of section 26 read as follows:

(iv) recommendations on best practices for public and private schools in the commonwealth to ensure that students have access to medical use marijuana while also maintaining a safe school environment for all students; and (v) recommendations on eliminating obstacles and expanding accommodations to possess, administer and consume medical use marijuana at public and private schools in the commonwealth.

Rep. Turco viewed this section as egregious, dangerous and absurd. “Drugs have absolutely no place at schools or around young children. Period. This is not a fact that requires a study to determine,” said Rep. Turco. “As a parent of six young kids, the idea that we would transition from ‘Just Say No’ to possibly mandating, and therefore normalizing, marijuana usage in our schools is beyond the pale. While I am deeply disappointed this atrocious section made it into the bill, I commend Governor Baker for taking swift and decisive action to remove it.”