Pubdate: Fri, 17 Jan 2014 Source: Boston Herald (MA) Copyright: 2014 The Boston Herald, Inc Contact: http://news.bostonherald.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/53 Note: Prints only very short LTEs. THE POLITICS OF POT The new "medical" marijuana industry in Massachusetts has inspired a slew of lobbyists and consultants and entrepreneurs to get into the weed game (we use air quotes because of course there is no such thing as "medical" marijuana - only plain old marijuana marketed to those with medical conditions). But finally it has occurred to someone that in the midst of that mad scramble for pot dollars some very real conflicts might crop up. Bay State Republicans yesterday slammed the licensing process for marijuana dispensaries in Massachusetts as "politicized and secretive," noting in particular the political ties between a lobbyist for one license applicant and the head of the state Department of Public Health, which will award the licenses. The process could surely be perceived the way the GOP describes it, and that ought to be enough to consider the changes they're seeking. They recommend an independent commission modeled on the state Gaming Commission, rather than a team of Patrick administration insiders, to decide which applicants will score one of up to 35 lucrative pot licenses. The comparison to the Gaming Commission makes sense, since the panel that was established to regulate that new-to-Massachusetts and legally-tricky industry has set a new standard for transparency. Not so the pot process. And while it's a bit late to make a dramatic procedural change (the licenses are expected to be awarded in the coming weeks) the campaign should at least educate the voters of the commonwealth on what voting "yes" on the 2012 marijuana ballot question has unleashed. Indeed, it's rather amusing to meet the cast of characters now panting after the weed business, including at least a half dozen former state lawmakers. Surely in the old days they'd have been more likely to support a special committee to examine drug addiction and treatment - like, say, the one that Senate President Therese Murray announced just yesterday. Dollar signs really do affect one's point of view, don't they? - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom