10 Massachusetts lawmakers endorse rec initiative

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Countering the Republican governor, the Democratic mayor of Boston, and numerous other public officials that are campaigning against adult use marijuana legalization in Massachusetts, a solid bloc of 10 state lawmakers on Thursday announced their support for the campaign that’s trying to get voters to approve recreational cannabis this November.

The 10, which were revealed in a press release on Thursday by the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, are all endorsing Question 4, the initiative supported by the campaign and by the Marijuana Policy Project, which would legalize rec in the Bay State.

The ten are all Democratic state legislators, and all said their support stemmed from concern for social justice issues, their belief that the War on Drugs has failed, and a desire to bolster state tax revenue.

“It’s time we got this over with,” Sen. Will Brownsberger, chairman of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, said in the release. “The prohibition approach to the control of marijuana use just has not worked.”

Boston Magazine reported that Jim Borghesani, the campaign manager for Question 4, said they expect to announce more endorsements in coming weeks, but that he admitted that the opposition will likely have more establishment politicians on its side.