GREENFIELD — On Thursday, Massachusetts residents will be free to grow and consume marijuana in their own homes for the first time since before World War I.
But that doesn’t mean you’ll be allowed to light up on your favorite park bench, and you’ll need to be 21 or older to benefit from the new law, which passed 53 percent to 46 percent in the Nov. 8 election.
The state Legislature had originally considered pushing back some of the deadlines for legalizing, possessing and growing pot following the passage of Ballot Question 4, but, Senate President Stanley Rosenberg and House Speaker Robert DeLeo said in a joint statement Monday, that won’t be the case.
“The voters spoke in favor of legalized recreational marijuana on Nov. 8 and we fully intend to respect the will of the voters,” the duo wrote in an e-mail. “While we analyze the provisions of the new law and its implementation, we will not be passing legislation that changes the Dec. 15 effective date for possession, use and home growing.”
Smoking or eating marijuana or marijuana-infused edibles will still be illegal in public and in places where smoking cigarettes is already banned.
Retail sales will continue to be illegal until January 2018 — a deadline state officials and legislators are still thinking about pushing back — but as of Thursday, residents can grow up to 12 plants at home and possess up to 10 ounces of marijuana. They can also trade marijuana with others in small amounts, and purchasing paraphernalia for marijuana use and cultivation will be legal.
Those provisions will likely make less frequent situations like the one that saw a Wendell couple’s medical marijuana crop seized by state police and the National Guard earlier this year for growing outside in their backyard.
The warrantless raid was triggered by a helicopter spotter who, using binoculars, saw the 10-plant crop while hovering overhead, but the new law prohibits that method from being used to identify growers.
The couple, Francesco “Apollo” Compagnone and Patti Scutari, asked for the plants to be returned, but said Monday that the state police sent them a letter informing them that it had all been incinerated on Sept. 21.
Compagnone, in an e-mail, vowed to press forward with a lawsuit they have filed. The couple are certified medical marijuana users and were growing their own medicinal supply, they said.
“Patti and I have decided to continue this battle and look forward to anyone and everyone’s support,” wrote Compagnone. “Our only intent is to help people lessen their pain and suffering which is the result of a society that feeds them bad food, bad water and poor air quality. This system, controlled by corporate greed, keeps us completely ignorant to our own healing powers and totally dependent on quick fixes that come in the form of pills.”
You can reach Tom Relihan at: 413-772-0261, ext. 264
or trelihan@recorder.com
On Twitter: @RecorderTom