UMass Amherst warns students to pass on pot
Cops expecting traffic jams on road to nearby retail shop
With one of the state’s first pot shops due to open soon in Northampton, nearby UMass Amherst has launched an aggressive campaign warning students that weed won’t be tolerated on campus.
Northampton police, meanwhile, are concerned the local medical marijuana shop’s foray into recreational pot will turn already-congested Route 9 into a bumper-to-bumper hemp highway.
University of Massachusetts Amherst spokesman Edward Blaguszewski said the university has been warning students this fall about restrictions on pot use amid the rollout of legalized marijuana, “with an emphasis about knowing the facts and the policies about its use.”
“You may not use or possess marijuana, medical marijuana or marijuana paraphernalia in any form anywhere on University of Massachusetts Amherst property,” the school’s home page says, noting that federal law prohibits the use, possession or cultivation of the drug at educational institutions, while state law prohibits the use of marijuana anywhere in public — on or off campus — and if you are under 21.
“The academic impact of using marijuana includes lower GPA and delayed graduation,” the warning adds. “If drug testing is required, marijuana use can cause you to lose scholarships, jobs or internships.”
Norton Arbelaez, director of government affairs for New England Treat- ment Access, which runs a medical marijuana dispensary in Northampton, said it has received a license from the state Cannabis Control Commission for the sale of recreational pot, contingent on it passing a final inspection.
“We really see this as an expansion of our business instead of a shift,” Arbelaez said yesterday. “Our priority will continue to be our medical marijuana patients.”
But Northampton police say they are anticipating brisk business if NETA passes its final inspection.
“We are concerned about traffic,” Sgt. Patrick Moody said. “There will be a lot more people coming through town.”
And Northampton isn’t the only place facing that prospect.
The commission also has given licenses to two other medical marijuana dispensaries — Cultivate in Leicester and PharmaCannis Massachusetts in Wareham — to begin selling recreational pot if they pass final inspections.