Pot lobby protests

Will the whining of the pot lobbyists never end?

After years of laying the groundwork, the folks who dream of marijuana riches convinced Massachusetts voters last fall to legalize the sale and recreational use of pot. And they haven’t stopped complaining since.

It began when the state’s elected leaders promised minor changes to the 9,000-word law. It built when they delayed retail pot sales by six months, and continued when Beacon Hill strengthened the oversight panel and raised the retail tax rate for pot sales.

The whiners were back at it last week after the naming of the five people who will serve on the Cannabis Control Commission, griping that four of them had acknowledged voting against the pot law.

But then the eminently qualified new chairman of the commission, Steven Hoffman, said he has no hang-ups about pot (he even copped to smoking a joint in Colorado last summer) and opposed the law over concerns about unrealistic deadlines. Hard to argue with that.

The industry types still aren’t satisfied, of course, and now they’re focused on money. Treasurer Deb Goldberg, when her office was still in charge of pot oversight, had predicted a need for $10 million in the first year to get the regulatory framework in place and allow sales to begin. The current state budget contains up to $2.3 million for the new commission, and Hoffman said yesterday he’s prepared to seek more if it’s necessary.

But the law’s supporters are treating that $10 million estimate as gospel. The Marijuana Policy Project, apparently oblivious to the state’s revenue situation, huffed this week that Beacon Hill needs to cough up more. Their demand for more funding is particularly rich, given that they fought the higher tax rate and insisted on very low license fees in the law that went before voters.

Frankly if the industry “advocates” continue to have complaints about the pot rollout in the coming months they should look in the mirror. It was their own haste to start cashing in on the industry that led to wildly unrealistic deadlines. Massachusetts needs to get this right, and if it inconveniences those who are chasing a profit that’s just too bad.