Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | November 21, 2016 | Worcester Business Journal 9 363 Plantation Street Worcester, MA ceresbistro.com Meet with friends, enjoy a cocktail or a glass of fine wine from our varied collection, and top it off with dinner artistically prepared from only the freshest and most exquisite ingredients. Let CERES wrap up the perfect holiday celebration just for you. For reservations, call 508.754.2000 SatiSfy your cravingS No employee marijuana use Massachusetts voters have swept legal marijuana into the state by a margin of 54 to 46 percent, allowing adults 21 and older to possess and grow marijuana at home starting on Dec. 15. Despite the new legality – when polled – WBJ readers said they would not alter their drug-use policies to allow for marijuana consumption. F L A S H P O L L Will your employees be able to use marijuana? Yes. As long as it doesn't impede their work our employees can engage in any legal activity. 18% Yes. We already allow medical pot use so we are expanding for recreational use. "We have not been drug testing but may have to begin once marijuana is available." COMMENTS: "Federal law over state" No. We have a policy against drug use and that won't change with this new law. 69% "Federal Department of Transportation rules will prevent any use in the transportation industry or industries with exposure to hazardous materials." 0% No. But once we know more we will probably look into it. 13% Question 4 fell short in Shrewsbury, Boylston, West Boylston, Holden, Paxton, Westborough and Sutton. More than 100 state legislators are on record in opposition. Under the Massachusetts referen- dum, recreational marijuana becomes legal Dec. 15; the first retail shops aren't likely to open until 2018. The number of permissible pot sellers is limited to 20 percent of the community's liquor stores. However, cities and towns can approve a local ban or set a lower limit. Local police are already calling atten- tion to gray areas in the law – from establishing the level at which drivers are impaired to potential liability for the effects of second-hand smoke. Even if a community allows marijua- na shops, the battle is far from over. The problem with financing, retail Banks pose a sobering speed bump, Friedland said. No matter what the states decide, marijuana is still an ille- gal Schedule I drug at the federal level. And banks that rely on the federal banking system to move money simply can't defy the law. Potential retailers seeking to secure a location will more than likely consider a bank-held property. Most those half- empty strip malls across the country are owned by banks, which have stipu- lations that prohibit the use of property for a criminal enterprise. "It's going to take a while, but ulti- mately people will be able to go in off the street into a store and buy marijua- na," Friedland said. James Winokur, CEO of Boston- based CannaKorp, agreed. "Commerce will evolve. And we're really excited about that." "We're all feeling very positive that we're moving as a country in the right direction," Winokur said. "It's good for those who want to use cannabis for its benefits and makes it more normal." Public, social pot use CannaKorp has developed the world's first single-use pod and vapor- izer system, which is called the CannaCloud. It is similar to the way people use Keurig for preparing and drinking coffee. And therein lies another issue – public consumption, or social use, of marijuana. Colorado, viewed as the most pro- gressive toward the plant, became the first state to go fully legal when it passed its ballot initiative in 2012. However, even that state's regulations were written to outlaw public use indoor or outdoor, Friedland explained. That means people could still be arrest- ed for lighting up in public and that establishments such as cannacafes or budbars were merely a dream. It took four years before Colorado could get a social use measure on the ballot, which passed in a squeaker of a vote on Election Day. Denver's result is perhaps the best barometer of how, while cannabis continues to notch victo- ries, there still exists a sizable minority opposed and unfriendly toward it. Massachusetts became the first East Coast state to OK recreational marijua- na, and despite the likely local-level pushback in some areas for the sale of cannabis, there is little doubt that the Green Rush gained enormous momen- tum on Election Day. Massachusetts and Maine showed that legalization isn't just a West Coast thing. And according to the Washington Times, analysts have predicted national cannabis sales of $14 billion to $17 bil- lion this year with the potential to reach $44 billion by 2020. (Top) Gavita was among 300 vendors at the Marijuana Business Convention & Expo on Nov. 15 in Las Vegas Nov. 15. (Bottom) A crane lifts components for booths at the convention. W P H O T O S / J O H N R . K E L L Y

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