Just making sure i am reading this right.
- Bullet 1 eliminates all penalties for possession and bullets 2-7 focus on acquisition.
- Once you have it it doesn't matter how you got it.

Open Questions:
- Do you have to be able to prove that you are able to possess or grow?
- This is medication, how do you guaranteeing quality when people are growing it at home?
- Why do we go through the BS of saying it is medicinal and just accept that the majority of people just want to get stoned.
- How do we ensure that this is NEVER EVER covered by Mass Health or other state subsidized insurance?

Health-related costs per user are eight times higher for those who drink alcohol when compared to those who use marijuana, and are more than 40 times higher for tobacco smokers, according to a 2009 review published in the British Columbia Mental Health and Addictions Journal.
It states: "In terms of [health-related] costs per user: tobacco-related health costs are over $800 per user, alcohol-related health costs are much lower at $165 per user, and cannabis-related health costs are the lowest at $20 per user."

http://www.heretohelp.bc.ca/publications/cannabis/bck/7

Apart from the fact that legal drugs kill far more people than all the illegal drugs combined, debating whether a particular drug is harmless or not is missing the whole point. Are drugs like Heroin, Meth or Alcohol dangerous? It simply doesn't matter, because if we prohibit them then we sure as hell know that it makes a bad situation far worse. If someone wants to attempt to enhance or destroy their lives with particular medicines or poisons, that should be their business, not anybody else's. Their lives aren't ours to direct. And anyway, who wants to give criminals, terrorists and corrupt law enforcement agents a huge un-taxed, endless revenue stream?

Drinking water is more dangerous than smoking pot!

You cannot OD on Marijuana but you can from drinking to much WATER!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication

So should we regulate water too???

well said MR. Herteu.

time to stop this health crap, though it is indeed medicinal, and just legalise it.

Mr Hurteau, please note that heroin can and does kill someone with their first use. How often does that happen with alcohol?
Anyone who thinks marijuana is harmless, I would suggest you visit any type of meeting including parents whose children use drugs or alcohol, and listen to the stories of young people who are addicted to marijuana. Marijuana is also mind-altering and there is no test for its' use. You could have people killed on the roads every day and wouldn't be able to track it back to a user of pot.

Medical marijuana should be legal. In the realm of drugs we give to patients for helping ease disease symptoms marijuana is relatively benign - certainly much less addictive than many other narcotics. Marijuana does in fact have some powerful properties and a suitable safety profile that would make it highly appropriate for stimulating appetite in patients with cancer and advanced HIV. It's also shown to decrease ocular pressures in patients with glaucoma. Of course cannabinoids like THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, are already available in pill form though debate continues about the effectiveness of swallowing a pill versus smoking the drug.

My personal opinion is that if a chemotherapy patient benefits from getting high, be it from the THC-mediated stimulation of appetite or just the general euphoric feeling from effects on the nervous system, more power to him! We've got kids poisoning themselves with liquor, smokers dying of lung cancer, and a majority of Americans killing themselves with a high fat, low quality diet. The only reason to ban medical marijuana is some antiquated belief that this drug is one of our prime adversaries to be defeated in the war on cancer!

Marijuana is proven to help cancer patients eat when they cannot from the nausea created by harsh treatments, it is all natural and is cheap to produce, my brother dying of Aids told me marijuana was what helped him stay alive longer helping him eat more food and keeping it down, marijuana has been claimed to help glaucoma patients, and patients that suffer from severe muscle spasms, and patients with anxiety issues, if patient after patient tells you that of all the things they tried this works the best...... who are you or anyone here to stop them from getting what they need? These people are criminals in the justice systems eyes because they have to go through the black market to get what they need, if a doctor works his whole life to obtain a license that allows him to prescribe medications that he believes works for specific needs of his patient, who here has better knowledge then him to say he shouldn't prescribe marijuana??? If a doctor is willing to put his license on the line then all people need to step aside and let him or her do his or her job, i hate when synics look past all this and point fingers with the same old tag line "you just want to get high" well neighbors there is an obvious culture out there that stands with strong conviction that marijuana is a good product, if half the claims these patients say are true then marijuana will turn out to be the next wonder drug after penicillin

water is not HIGHLY regulated lol i could steal thousands of gallons without anyone ever finding out or stopping me hahahahaha

Vote YES ON 3 ! Its time we regulate and tax marijuana .. let Massachusetts reap the benefits of this harmless plant !

http://youtube.com/mikecann

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFb25aMkDHU&list=UU2keaWhlztNrtMAhczhRykg&index=1&feature=plcp

to get real information go to;

www.mavotenoonquestion3.com

Illegally diverted “medical” marijuana is sold to our kids
In Denver, of kids in drug rehab, 74% had received illegally diverted marijuana from a medical marijuana cardholder and had reported using diverted marijuana an average of 50 times. Massachusetts has already opened FOUR Rehab High Schools for drug-addicted teens and a fifth will open in Worcester next year.

•35 pot retail stores would open the first year with the promise of more in subsequent years
•People could carry a 60-day supply — the equivalent of hundreds of joints — around with them at all times
•People could grow marijuana in their home
•There is no expiration date on a doctor’s marijuana recommendation, and doctors with restrictions on their medical licenses would be able to recommend the drug. The loopholes and opportunities for an exploited, abused system are enormous

Under this ballot question, anyone 21 years or older can sell marijuana as long as they don’t have a felony drug offense conviction. Anyone 21 years or older can grow marijuana, even if they have a felony drug offense conviction.

@ Greg .... You said "Vote YES ON 3 ! Its time we regulate and tax marijuana "

There is no way to regualate it correctly. Marijuana has no dosage and no one will ever know how much anyone takes. And the shops will be non profit and the state government will not be able to tax them because they are a non profit org. We as tax payers will be paying for them because DPH does not have extra money to deal with it.

I would ask that people think long and hard about the implications before voting on Question 3. Marijuana is an herb and not a medicine, there are no major medical organizations in the country who support initiatives such as this, and it violates federal law (whice supersedes any state law). The law would allow as many as 5 dispensing centers in each county in the first year alone. In other states locations with these centers have seen an increase in crime and neighborhood blight and there has been an outcry to close them down. The centers are not medical centers which means that there is no regulation as to the content of the marijuana, and it will not be dispensed by medical personnel. Any adult can obtain a DPH license to open one of these centers to grow and dispense marijuana to adults as well as children, for any ailment a physician has deemed might be helped by the use of marijuana, even something as vague as 'pain'. Ask yourself why is it that it is considered allowable for this product to bypass scientific research and development, as well as FDA oversight? For those who feel it just doesn’t matter because pot is harmless, consider this: Marijuana addiction is the #1 reason minors in this country are admitted to substance abuse treatment centers, and is the #2 reason for adults.

When I was in high school I purchased marijuana with the greatest of ease.... in fact it was the easiest product to purchase.... easier than alcohol.... if kids want to smoke pot.... they are going to find a way and the current system is a perfect example of that.... you just said how bad the problem is and IT IS AS ILLEGAL AS ITS EVER GOING to get..... the only thing the current system accomplishes is taking it out of the hands of the people that need it..... it IS NOT STOPPING KIDS FROM GETTING IT...... if anything the current system makes it easier for kids to get because i've never seen a drug dealer ask for an I.D..... so stop using children for an excuse

the current system is bad for our kids.... look no one is saying kids won't circumvent the system and find a way, no plan is ever bullet proof..... however, in Colorado and California.... marijuana use amongst teens has not increased and those models are over a decade old..... if kids get pot through a chain of people from medical marijuana that is better to me then where our kids get their pot now which is from criminals.... i'd rather kids not be involved with criminals the have guns, heroine, cocaine, have records for god knows what.... there is no proof in decades of medical marijuana existing that teens are any more susceptible to smoking pot so using this "for the kids" tactic is propaganda

vote yes on question 3..... my brother Michael Hughes passed away from AIDS.... his life was easier with marijuana, it allowed him to eat more often, have an appetite, keep food down, and relieve pain, marijuana alone got him off 12 prescription pills that were ruining his liver, it made his quality of life better, he had to purchase it illegally off the street and once even ended up in jail for it..... a terminally sick man in jail for getting medicine can you believe that? vote yes so people can get what they believe is the best medicine for them so they can have a comfortable life like my brother but without feeling like a criminal

Why can't people proposing this just get to the point and admit this has very little to do with "medical necessity" and much more to do with getting high. The medical title is a farce.

I think that 'the kids' is just one of the reasons to vote against it. In 2012 alone, 74% of adolescents in substance abuse treatment in the Denver area had used someone else’s medical marijuana half of the time they used. Also in 2012, the Denver Police saw a 69% increase in crime at the dispensaries during the previous 6 months. The Los Angeles city council recently voted unanimously to shut down all of its' dispensaries. There is nothing 'medical' about it, it is totally unregulated as to content and amount. The law states that you can carry a 60-day supply, but nowhere is there a definition of how much that would be. And how about just the idea that you can still be arrested and charged under federal law, for growing or possessing. People need to get their heads out of the clouds and educate themselves. I'll guarantee that all of the proponents are horrified by the idea of smoking cigarettes, yet doctors will tell you that smoking anything is harmful to your health. If this was just needed for medicinal purposes, you can get a marijuana pill from a licensed doctor and pharmacist.

the marijuana pill does not work my brother tried it.... it never worked, he died a happier person because of marijuana and i will fight for every other person that wants to use it for the same reasons..... you keep using the same statistic about 74% of the kids in Denver.... let me ask you this and becareful because I have statistics to back up my argument..... did the amount of children that used marijuana in Denver go up or down since medical marijuana was implemented?

http://sensiblecolorado.org/marijuana-use-down-among-teens-in-colorado-since-regulations-took-effect/ this article proves that according to the Federal Government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention teen use for marijuana DECREASED in 2011 and 2 years prior to that since implementing medical marijuana.... the link to the government's research is on this site for 2011 and 2009 .... so Martha Johnson please tell me why you are twisting words to make it look like medical marijuana was a bad thing in Colorado? When I have just produced FACTS that prove medical marijuana in Colorado has decreased teen use, so if you all care about the kids vote yes on 3 or if you want teen use of marijuana to continue to rise do like our friend Martha here and spew propaganda and vote no on 3 and watch the drug problem amongst teens continue to rise

I never said it increased drug use by kids, just that a majority of kids using pot were using someone else's marijuana prescription. I'm sorry that the pill didn't work for your brother, but that's true of most medications. Not everyone reacts the same way to each medication. It does work for many people. Here's just one of the dilemmas....you have someone who is ill with cancer or AIDS, and you give them something to smoke (which by itself is unhealthy), and you have no idea what is in it. Their immune system is already compromised. I wouldn't trust any doctor who would prescribe something that is not regulated. Every teen who uses this or any drug is one too many. Next time you have the chance please visit a support group and speak with the parents who are dealing with a child who is addicted to pot. If you really wanted people in pain to have it you would instead be looking at a way to have it regulated so that you know what is in it, and in what amounts, and you would be fighting for it to be dispensed only in medical settings by medical personnel.

first of all they don't have to smoke it they can eat it.... in brownies and many other different baked items....... have you ever seen pot shops.... funny thing is there are labels on every jar of every strand and it tells you exaclty how potent it is down to the .1 percentile.... and if you want it regulated as you say then you should be completely against our current system because as it stands right now it is completely unregulated, by puting it in a store and carding every person that walks in is step one to getting it regulated..... as far as the kids' i just squashed this..... IT HAS BEEN PROVEN IN AREAS WHERE MEDICAL MARIJUANA EXISTS TEEN USE DECREASES.... so why do you teirelessly keep going back to the same argument?

Mr Brightman, I don't think you're listening because you are so set on your own agenda. This question would not regulate it. The shops can label their items any which they choose. There is no regulation or oversight as to content. I don't understand promoting something like this for someone who's immune system has been shot to hell by chemo or AIDS. Also, the societal costs for addiction are enormous. I agree that if you really wanted patients in need to receive this, you would be fighting for it to be done the right way. Having a MA prescription in your hand will not prevent you from being arrested by federal authorities. To me, that's reason enough to be against it.

Mr. Johnson if shops were to "label it any which way they chose" they wouldn't be doing a very good job, word by consumer would spread, they would lose customers, would lose money, and would have to close down due to their competition doing a much better job, and they would lose their entire investment of well over 400-500,000 dollars, capitalism would correct that problem for us, if a market started selling grapefruit as apples do you think that would be a successful market?.... you are splitting hairs talking about regulating something that does less harm then Advil..... so let's not pass this law for what reason Mr Johnson.... tell me, so your not going to pass this law because someone might put the wrong label on something that would not have any implications to begin with.... tell me do you know what the implications would be if strands of marijuana were'nt labeled properly and someone purchased sour diesel instead of OG Kush? Or Purple Haze instead of Commercial? I know what the implications would be but please....tell me, you seem to be presenting a side of an argument here and I believe everyone gets their say, what implications occur if "things are mislabeled"?