Aspiring Governor Backtracks, Labels Cannabis Concerns 'Unnecessary.' What Changed?

The 2022 gubernatorial race is heating up and candidates are jockeying for power, so naturally, cannabis is in the mix.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey (D), who became the frontrunner for governor after Sonia Chang-Díaz ended her campaign in June, seems to be changing her stance on the issue, despite previous opposition to cannabis, according to CommonWealth Magazine.

Healey, who once said weed companies "will always put profits before people," may need support from those same entrepreneurs who've been running legal cannabis companies since sales began in November 2018 in the Bay State.

The AG's stance on marijuana from six years ago has apparently changed, at least according to what she said at a recent meeting with CommonWealth.

Healey explained that when Massachusetts voters green-lighted legalization, she opposed the idea though supported decriminalization. She said then that she was concerned about the effect cannabis might have on youth as well as its potential for addiction.

Those concerns "may have been, fortunately, unnecessary," she recently said.

Healey also said that she hopes that her fears "don't come true," adding that "to date, I haven't seen evidence of that."

More Equity, Please

Now, the gubernatorial candidate wants to shift the focus to equity and "who is sharing in the prosperity of this industry."

To that end, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law a bill earlier this month that had previously advanced through both chambers. The bill will set up a more equitable environment in the legal marijuana industry. Senate Bill 3096 aims to promote the sector's diversity and regulate the host community agreement (HCA) between cannabis companies and municipalities.

The measure will "re-balance the playing field where, so far, wealthy corporations have been able to buy their way through the licensing process and yet, too many local small businesses and Black and brown entrepreneurs have been locked out of the industry," state Senator Chang-Díaz said earlier.

Meanwhile, the MA cannabis regulator reported in May that adult-use marijuana sales have officially surpassed $3 billion, despite the obstacles experienced by entrepreneurs who want to advertise and deliver their products.

Photo: Courtesy of Kindel Media by Pexels and Marcio Jose Bastos Silva by Shutterstock