Charlie Baker (R)
Massachusetts
| Took Office | 2015 |
|---|---|
| Term Expires | 2022 |
NORML Grade: C
2019 Enacted Legislation
State regulators in 2019 created a pilot program to provide for a limited number of licensed, on-site cannabis consumption facilities — a decision that the Governor publicly supported. Later in the year, the Baker administration pushed through a temporary ban on the retail sale of THC vaping products. That ban was lifted in December after regulators enacted new rules providing for the testing and inspection of vapor products.
2019 Vetoed Legislation
None
Comments
Although Gov. Baker previously opposed legalization efforts in Massachusetts, in 2019 he publicly called upon Congress to amend federal law so that banks could provide financial services to state-licensed cannabis operators.
"I still think that the first thing we need to do — we’ve had conversations with both Republicans and Democrats in Washington about this — is to take the cash to the extent that we can out of the system and have this treated the same way other industries deal with financial transactions." (Link)
"I think the issues around … social consumption sites, and all that comes with [them], are really hard and are really complicated. I think doing it on a pilot basis would make a lot of sense." (Link)