Email your MA State Rep & Senator. For a model letter on the legalization bill click here. For a model letter click on the medical bills click here. To read more about pending legislation in MA click here.                                               Michael,

My position on medical marijuana remains the same. Rep. Smizik has filed similar medical marijuana legislation this session (H.625), and while I am not a co-sponsor, I will be paying close attention to the written and oral testimony from the bill's hearing. I am no longer a member of the committee to which this bill has been referred, the Joint Committee on Public Health, so I do not have a vote in the determination of whether or not this bill makes it out of committee.

If the bill is reported favorably, however, and floor action is taken on it that requires the vote of the House, I will approach that vote with an open mind and with the best interests of all members of our community at heart. My concerns about the legalization of medical marijuana stem from the potential for abuse and misuse of the medical marijuana system. If experts in the fields of public health and public safety determine that Rep. Smizik's bill would create a responsible and reasonably restrictive medical marijuana system in Massachusetts, than I will seriously consider supporting it.

I apologize for not having a more substantive and decisive position on this matter, but medical marijuana represents a significant shift in drug policy for Massachusetts, and it is not a change that should be undertaken lightly and without great care.

Thanks for contacting me, Michael, and please do not hesitate to contact me in the future.