Another pot board? What are they smoking?
A new “independent” commission controlled by the Boston mayor’s office designed to regulate a growing, multimillion-dollar business that’s currently under investigation by federal authorities?
What could possibly go wrong?
There are just so many unanswered questions and potential pitfalls surrounding the city’s brand new Cannabis Commission, which is designed to oversee the opening of city pot shops and boost minority ownership.
The No. 1 suspicion is that the new ordinance passed by the City Council on Wednesday — with Mayor Marty Walsh’s blessing — will just be another expansion of Walsh’s power over city government and the marijuana industry.
“I am worried that the separation between the board and the mayor may not be sufficient given what we’ve seen so far in his slowness,” marijuana industry consultant Jim Borghesani said. “It’s going to come down to the makeup of the board and who is selected.”
Walsh has at least three picks on the commission and can choose the chair, which is a big red flag.
But other industry insiders say it could have been worse. The fact that Walsh even agreed to the commission — he didn’t want it in the first place — is a concession.
“It is somewhat progress that (the commission) even exists,” one industry insider said.
The new ordinance comes amid a growing federal investigation into Boston and other municipalities’ host community agreements with pot shop owners.
That investigation could put Walsh and the commission in the crosshairs over the coming months, which may have the effect of tamping down any hopes the mayor had of controlling the regulation process.
The ordinance was spearheaded through the City Council by Councilor Kim Janey, who said she believes it will be a vast improvement over how Boston currently regulates pot shops.
Janey’s ordinance only got through because it was a compromise with the mayor.
But the board cannot truly be “independent” if the mayor has control over the appointment process, especially the chair.
In the worst case, it could be a scenario similar to the supposedly “independent” School Committee, which is nothing more than an arm of the fifth-floor mayor’s office.
Or similar to state agencies like Massport, the MBTA or the Mass Gaming Commission, which are really controlled by the governor’s office.
The commission could also end up just throwing more delays into the process, which has already gone on too long.
And that’s something Boston residents don’t want to see.
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/346BbIp
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