Mayor's Substance Abuse Task Force urges residents to vote 'NO' on Question 3

Below is the text of an editorial written by the Mayor's Substance Abuse Task Force urging residents to vote 'NO' on Question 3.

'On November 6th we will head to the polls to make a number of very important decisions for our country and our Commonwealth. While the elections for President and United States Senator certainly garner the greatest attention, there are other items further down the ballot that will have direct and drastic impacts on our society if passed. Today we write to discuss one such item - Ballot Question 3.

Ballot Question 3 seeks to legalize the sale and use of so-called medical marijuana. The proponents of this bill tell a story of the benefits and uses of marijuana. What they fail to do, however, is tell the truth about how the passage of this bill will drastically change our community for the worse.

The way this question is written allows for 35 dispensaries to be opened across our Commonwealth. There is nothing in the bill that prevents one from being opened near your child's school, your local church or even your own home. The people who would staff these facilities will almost assuredly not be licensed medical professionals like you would see at a real pharmacy. If you have seen such a facility in operation in California it is not uncommon for the workers there to be high while providing this service. Ultimately, marijuana dispensaries are a true farce and do not belong in this or any other community in Massachusetts.

The proponents of Question 3 tell us that it will only help suffering people deal with pain. In practice it encourages drug use en masse and Question 3 as written provides little to no oversight of who gets marijuana and how much they can get. The vague language describing what types of medical conditions warrant medical marijuana usage will inevitably lead to widespread substance abuse. Just as in California and other states who have taken this step, people will be able to get a prescription for medical marijuana because they suffer from chronic cases of ‘the Mondays'. Large quantities of legally prescribed marijuana will spill onto our streets and into the hands of our children.

Question 3 is poorly written and guarantees increased marijuana usage in our population. We know that marijuana starts some people on a destructive path toward abuse of other more powerful substances. School officials, medical providers and parents groups dedicate themselves to stopping young people from using drugs. A ‘yes' vote on Question 3 in one stroke has a crippling effect on those efforts to reduce substance abuse in our schools and on our streets. It is a dangerous piece of legislation that will have a number of unintended consequences we will have to confront at the local level.

We ask you to join with us in opposing this harmful piece of legislation. On November 6th, vote ‘no' on Question 3.'

- Mayor's Substance Abuse Task Force, City of Quincy