New England Public Radio

Sam Hudzik

Want to Open a Medical Pot Dispensary? Grab Your Checkbook.

Nine months after Massachusetts voters signed off on medical marijuana, the state is now starting to accept applications for pot dispensaries.

Those looking to open up dispensaries need to have a lot of cash on-hand even to apply. They need to prove they have $500,000 in escrow, to get the business going.  They also have to pass a background check.

If that all goes smoothly, applicants advance to phase 2, which requires them to pay a $30,000 fee. A selection committee will evaluate and score those applications based on a number of criteria including the appropriateness of the location and local support. 

Meanwhile the state is not dictating how much dispensaries would have to charge for marijuana.  But Valerio Romano, a lawyer in Boston who represents people planning to apply for the licenses, says patients can expect to pay street price – about $300 an ounce.  Otherwise, he says, a black market could develop:

 “If a dispensary is providing that cannabis to a patient at super low cost, and you’re a patient who doesn’t have funds, there are some patients who might take advantage of that and turn around and sell it on the street and make a profit,” Romano says.

The deadline for phase 1 applications is August 22nd.

Rosenberg Claims Enough Support to Win Massachusetts Senate Presidency

Amherst Democrat Stanley Rosenberg said Wednesday he has enough support to become the next president of the Massachusetts Senate. 

Rosenberg has served in the chamber for more than 21 years and is the current majority leader, the number-two Democratic post under Senate President Therese Murray.

“[A]s of last night, I now have an overwhelming majority of the Democratic caucus has pledged support to have me replace the Senate president when [Murray] retires from the post,” he told New England Public Radio on Wednesday morning.

Because of an 8-year term limit, Murray must leave the Senate presidency in early 2015. Despite statehouse rumors that Murray’s exit may be more imminent, Rosenberg said Murray “indicates she intends to fill-out the full term.” 

“She is pleased that this was amicably resolved,” Rosenberg said. “It was spirited but totally respectful. It did not distract the body from its business, and she’s happy that there is a succession plan.”

The official leadership vote, Rosenberg said, won’t take place until Murray’s term ends. But he is not worried his support will fade over those 17 months because he said he has “written confirmation” from his backers. He would not say exactly how many supporters he has or who they are.

If elected Senate president, Rosenberg would be the first Western Massachusetts senator in the post since Maurice Donahue, who held it from 1964 to 1971.

Rosenberg’s top competitor in the leadership race was another Western Massachusetts senator, Steven Brewer of Barre, the chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee. 

“I have known Stan Rosenberg for over 35 years,” Brewer said in a statement. “I know Stan will do a fine job as Senate President when that time comes. I admire Senate President Murray as a colleague and a friend and look forward to her continued leadership. Our caucus should remain united. The Senate is an institution that is larger than any one person.”

Asked what it means for the region to have one of its senators presiding over the Senate, Rosenberg offered a diplomatic reply.

“Our job is to build a statewide agenda and help each member help their districts develop and grow – in terms of the economy, in terms of social progress,” he said. “And we do it from the bottom up and much of the work that we do will apply to the whole commonwealth. Other parts of it will be germane to our specific area.”

Rosenberg gave even fewer specifics in describing how his leadership of the Senate would differ from Murray’s.

“That will be determined over time as I work with the members of the Senate – both on process and agenda,” he said.

New England Public Radio’s Sarah Birnbaum contributed to this report.

Massachusetts Lawmakers Angle for Senate President’s Chair

Massachusetts state senators are maneuvering to become the next Senate president. That’s fueled by speculation that Senate President Therese Murray, one of the most powerful politicians at the state, could be headed for the door.

Senators are already lining up votes to replace Murray, suggesting that her departure could be imminent. In any case, Murray has to step down as president by the end of March 2015, because of term limit rules.

Two senators are jockeying for the job: Senate Ways and Means Chairman Steven Brewer of Barre, who oversees the budget and tax bills, and Senate Majority Leader Stanley Rosenberg of Amherst, who was the main voice on casino gambling and redistricting.

The effort to lobby and line up votes has gone on outside of public view, in conversations inside offices.  Publicly, many senators won’t say who they’re backing. Others will, like Marc Pacheco of Taunton:

“I’m a supporter of Stanley Rosenberg’s,” Pacheco said. “I’ve supported him a long time.  He has been an outstanding leader.”

Sen. Gale Candaras of Wilbraham was more tight-lipped about all this, and careful to praise the Senate president.

“It is my sincere hope that she serves until the last day, the last hour, the last minute of her term,” Candaras said.

And Candaras only obliquely confirmed that the leadership race has come down to fellow Western Massachusetts senators Rosenberg and Brewer.

“I absolutely support having a Senate president from Western Massuchusetts and I would say there’s almost a 100% probability that I will be able to serve with a great colleague and friend from Western Massachusetts,” she said.

For her part, President Murray walked away when reporters asked her about her plans. Brewer would not comment and Rosenberg’s aide said he’s occupied with Senate business.

The Public Price Tag on a Sales Tax Holiday

Massachusetts legislators this week are scheduled to decide whether to give residents a sales tax-free weekend in August.

For the past several years, legislators have designated a summer weekend in which many consumer purchases are exempt from the 6.25 percent sales tax.

Lawmakers present the tax holiday as way to give consumers some relief and to help businesses by sparking new spending, but there is a cost to state government.

Numbers from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue suggest that the state loses much more than it gains. Official figures, based on previous tax holidays, show that Massachusetts is likely to forgo between $21.9 million and $26.7 million through lost sales tax over two days.

There could be extra income or corporate taxes that come about from more spending, but the state said that would only add up to $1.98 million or less. 

Feds Give Massachusetts Law Enforcement OK to Investigate Food Stamp Trafficking

Massachusetts welfare officials and local law enforcement are teaming up with the feds to crack down on trafficking of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, formerly known as food stamps.

Until now, local law enforcement had the power to go after food stamp recipients engaging in fraud, but not retailers. This agreement gives them that authority.

James Arena-DeRosa is with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the food stamp program.

“We are pleased to be working with the Department of Transitional Assistance and Law Enforcement Officials toward the common goal of ensuring that taxpayer’s dollars are used for the intended purpose of providing healthy foods to people in need,” Arena-DeRosa said Monday.

SNAP benefits cannot be converted to cash and can only be used to purchase groceries.  But some merchants pay recipients cash for their cards, sometimes for pennies on the dollar.  And then the store redeems the card at face value, pocketing the profit.

The USDA will provide local law enforcement with decoy benefit cards to use in undercover investigations of retailers suspected of trading cash for food stamps.

So far, local police departments in Everett, Taunton, Addleborough and Pittsfield have signed up for the program.

Morning Edition Extra, July 26, 2013

Today on Morning Edition Extra, we begin with voices in the news this week. Then we get an update on the “Whitey” Bulger trial from Boston, with WBUR editor Mark Degon. The prosecution expects to rest its case today. Susan Kaplan then offers up the next installment of our Summer Fiction series. She chats with Marisa Labozzetta, author of Sometimes it Snows in America. And we conclude in Willimantic, Connecticut, as Laurie Sanders visits with researchers tracking “flying cigars.”