Massachusetts lawmakers want to decriminalize all drugs, raise soda tax

A bill to legalize drugs across the board and another to tax sugary drinks by up to 24 cents on a can of soda stand out among the thousands filed by lawmakers as they kick off a new session under the pandemic.

All drugs would be decriminalized in a bill filed Friday by Reps. Mike Connolly, D-Cambridge, and Liz Miranda, D-Boston, and Sen. Julian Cyr, D-Truro. Punitive punishment — like jail time — for possession of controlled substances would be abolished and the replaced with a $50 civil fine.

“It speaks directly to addressing the colossal failure that the War on Drugs has been and the extraordinarily disproportionate impact those policies have had on people of color here in Massachusetts and around the country,” Connolly said.

The state bill “sets the gold standard for equitably legalizing these plants and ending the putrid, racist mess that is the war on drugs,” said James Davis of Bay Staters for Natural Medicine, which is backing the bill.

Former cannabis regulator Shaleen Title said it’s time to stop acting like we can “arrest and incarcerate our way out” of America’s drug problem. The bill also lays out a screening process to get help to people struggling with drugs.

The organization was the driving force behind the recent local decriminalization efforts in Somerville and Cambridge. Northampton is expected to vote on a similar resolution in mid-March, and inroads are being made in Boston and Pittsfield as well, the group’s organizer said.

A complementary bill filed by Connolly would create a 21-member taskforce to study the implications of legalizing magic mushrooms and other psychedelic plants. Proponents say the plants are effective in treating PTSD, depression and other mental illnesses.

Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Director Mark Leahy said police groups would demand “careful study” of the proposal, but noted “anything that’s of value to people with legitimate illnesses is definitely worthy of greater scrutiny and study.”

The initiative has its detractors, too. Beacon Hill Institute President David Tuerck said it’s “a bad idea” to take away penalties for drug abuse with “society in such a precarious state,” amid the pandemic.

Sen. Jason Lewis, D-Winchester, filed a bill that would raise a tax on soda and other sugary drinks, which are currently exempt — something retailers and watchdogs are already pushing back on.

Beverages with 7.5 to 29 grams of sugar would be taxed 1 cent per ounce. Drinks with more 30 grams of sugar or more would be taxed 2 cents per ounce, or 24 cents for a can of soda. There would be no tax on beverages with fewer than 7.5 grams of sugar.

“It’s very expensive and it will really raise the cost of a soda through the roof,” said Jon Hurst of the Massachusetts Retailers Association.

Tuerck called the bill “a further intrusion of the nanny state.”

Money raised from the tax would go to a new public health fund.

The sugary drinks bill joins another revenue-raising bill that would nearly double the tax rate on so-called “unearned income” such as capital gains and dividends.

Legislators are also taking aim at major issues like the pandemic with scores of bills being filed. “COVID” appears in 202 bills filed as of Friday night. One, filed by Sen. Patrick O’Connor, R-Weymouth, would force the state to create a better monitoring system for at-home personal care attendants.

The word “marijuana” appears in 90 bills — several filed by Cyr. One would allow municipalities to authorize on-site consumption through a ballot initiative. Another, sponsored by Rep. Shawn Dooley, R-Dedham, would establish an “open container law” for pot to help police enforce laws against driving while smoking weed.

The Legislature is also poised to take on sports betting once again this session, with lawmakers filing a total of 15 bills to allow wagering on sports and fantasy sports. Gov. Charlie Baker’s $45.6 billion budget, as proposed, relies in part on $35 million in revenue from sports betting.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3sftL1s