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State’s new marijuana law should take effect this week – Metro US

State’s new marijuana law should take effect this week

State’s new marijuana law should take effect this week
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While the rest of the country debates how the Electoral College should vote next week, Massachusetts might have made a solid decision on the Nov. 8 ballot Question 4, the Massachusetts Marijuana Legalization Initiative. Looks like you’ll be able to smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em by this weekend.

The office of Secretary of State William Galvin plans to deliver the official results to the Governor’s Council for certification on Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.

As long as the council certifies the results as expected, the law will take effect the next day as planned.

Galvin’s office previously said the official tally might not be ready in time for the Dec. 15 certification, the Boston Globe reported.

“All those tokers can hold their breath a little longer, but they’ll be able to exhale” by early 2017, Galvin joked, according to the Globe.

Question 4 did not debate whether or not pot should be legal. Medical marijuana is allowed in Massachusetts already. The new law will allow for anyone over the age of 21 to possess a limited amount of pot and grow up to a dozen plants per household for recreational purposes.

Weed will be regulated similarly to alcohol — which means it will be taxed. The Department of Public Health scheduled public hearings for the first week of January to update regulations with respect to the new law.

It will still be illegal to buy or sell marijuana and to use it in a public place, and the law on possessing marijuana inside a motor vehicle is similar to that on alcohol; containers of weed must be kept in the trunk or glove compartment.