Steven Hoffman’s goal is to see the marijuana industry blend seamlessly into the business and economic fabric of Massachusetts.
That won’t be as easy as it sounds, and certainly not in the short term, but Hoffman chooses to believe.
“The way I’ll judge our success will be, will this be a normal industry?” the chairman of the state Cannabis Control Commission said during a visit with the editorial board of The Republican and Masslive.com. Hoffman wants job creation, tax revenue and community to serve as the legacy of the 2016 referendum, which legalized recreational marijuana in Massachusetts – and also of his commission, which regulates the industry as serves as both watchdog and facilitator.
The facilitating comes with Hoffman’s determination to fill the legal requirements that prioritize diversity within the industry and help for communities that were most adversely affected when marijuana was prohibited. He comes off as neither advocate nor critic of marijuana use, but rather as an administrator who accepts the expectations of the commission’s duties, and also its limits.
Marijuana is still a volatile topic in many quarters. Time and gradual acceptance could someday make this industry viewed no differently than liquor, cigarettes or other legal products. But, three years after the referendum vote, advocates think its rollout is being done too slowly. It’s being done too quickly, according to those who opposed legalizing it in the first place, and see dangers in letting it flourish now.
Nearly a dozen states have legalized marijuana, but only one, Illinois, did it through legislation. All the others passed it by public referendum, as Massachusetts did.
Many communities want as little of it as possible, or no involvement at all. Some, like Holyoke, see tremendous economic potential in this new revenue source. Hovering over the entire industry is that on the federal level, marijuana is still illegal, leaving states and investors to trust they’ll be left alone while federal officials concentrate on more serious criminal problems.
The federal prohibition makes banks leery of getting involved, and limited access to banking is a big obstacle for this cash-heavy industry. This serves to remind us that this is not just another industry, but one with intersecting and sometimes conflicting regulations and guidelines.
Despite all of this, Hoffman thinks the industry will grow exponentially in the next several years. He defends the pace of the rollout, saying truthfully that this is one enterprise which must be done right the first time – as other states, which ran into problems after hasty rollouts, found out the hard way.
Time has a way of calming the waters on hot-button issues. Gay marriage was hugely controversial for decades, and in some quarters, still is. But when skeptics saw the sky didn’t fall with its passage, it became routine in the eyes of many who had once opposed it.
The same may happen with legal marijuana, but for now, it garners headlines with every morsel of news and remains not just an economic topic, but an emotional social one. It’s unlike other industries, whose trends and regulatory actions go unnoticed by all but those directly affected.
Will marijuana ever be “just another business?” Most probably, yes. That’s what Steven Hoffman says will validate his commission’s work, but he knows enough not to expect it to happen tomorrow.
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