wbjournal.com | June 26, 2017 | Worcester Business Journal 3
Editor, Brad Kane,
bkane@wbjournal.com
Digital Editor, Grant Welker,
gwelker@wbjournal.com
Staff Writers
Laura Finaldi, lfinaldi@wbjournal.com
(Manufacturing, higher education)
Emily Micucci,
emicucci@wbjournal.com (Health care)
Contributors
Susan Shalhoub
Livia Gershon
Research Director,
Stephanie Meagher,
smeagher@nebusinessmedia.com
Research Assistant, Heide Martin,
hmartin@nebusinessmedia.com
Production Director, Kira Beaudoin,
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Associate Art Director,
Mitchell Hayes,
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Senior Accounts Manager
Matt Majikas,
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Custom Publishing Project Manager
Christine Juetten,
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Senior Special Accounts Manager
Mary Lynn Bosiak,
mlbosiak@wbjournal.com
Marketing & Events Manager
Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com
Sales & Events Intern
Eric Goudreau,
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COO, Mary Rogers,
mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com
Accounting Manager, Valerie Clark,
vclark@nebusinessmedia.com
Accounting Assistant, Rae Rogers,
rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com
Collections Manager, Raki Zwiebel,
rzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com
Human Resources, Kim Vautour,
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Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton
pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com
Associate Publisher, Mark Murray
mmurray@wbjournal.com
President, Joseph Zwiebel
jzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com
D
espite having high school and
college friends who smoked
pot, been physically passed a
joint at a Metallica/Kid Rock
concert, toured a marijuana growing
facility, and lived in Massachusetts for
five years under legal medical marijuana
and for seven months under legal recre-
ational pot, I have never smoked mari-
juana, nor ingested it in any other way.
My decision to engage in a pot-free
lifestyle was based largely on the fact it
was illegal (a logic I never applied to
underage drinking or driving faster than
the speed limit). In addition to being
taught at an early age all drugs are bad,
marijuana is a gateway drug and a single
puff on a joint would lead me down the
road of addiction and despair ending as
a heroin junkie barely subsisting under a
bridge, I was adamant to do the right
things and not engage in illegal activity.
Over the years, I have mellowed, real-
izing the law is a living document evolv-
ing with new discoveries and changes in
culture, but I still never sought out mari-
juana. Since the recreation pot ballot
question passed in November (I voted in
favor), I've become more curious. On the
rare occasions where I can chill out and
not have to worry at being at the con-
stant state of readiness coming with hav-
ing four young children, rather than
drinking a couple of beers and be slug-
gish with a headache the next day, maybe
I could ingest marijuana in a safe way to
relax. Yet, I can't really do that under the
new law, since growing my own pot
seems like a pain and I don't have a safe,
legal way to get some otherwise.
On one hand, I understand why towns
like Westborough and a dozen others in
Central Massachusetts have adopted
bans or moratoriums on recreational pot
stores (see Grant Welker's story on page
10). The drug still carries a stigma. Yet, it
is weird to hear Westborough officials
last year talk about using extra liquor
licenses as economic development tools
while saying this year they will never
allow a pot dispensary. I understand all
neighborhoods are not perfect fits for
strip clubs or rail yards, but outright
banning an industry from your commu-
nity is foolhardy. A market exists for rec-
reational pot, businesses can prosper
I haven't smoked marijuana yet
Worcester Business Journal (ISSN#1063-6595) is
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issues in April, July, September, November and
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A division of:
NEWS & ANALYSIS
DEPARTMENTS
4 Central Mass. In Brief
5 Flash Poll
12 Focus on Entrepreneurs & Innovation
16 The List: Incubators, co-working spaces
& Makerspaces
18 Know How
19 On the Move
20 Photo Finish
21 Opinion
22 Shop Talk: Jim Donahue,
Old Sturbridge Village
14 Finding a way to survive
As retailers close and new malls
open, the Greendale Mall in Worcester
relies on nearby residents to keep its stores
operating.
21 Keep beer distribution fair
Viewpoint Columnist Bill Kelley responds to
a May 29 Viewpoint column from a brewery
executive, saying distribution laws must
still seek to protect those who distribute
and market beer.
I N T H I S I S S U E
Worcester Business Journal
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It all adds up.
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Greenberg, Rosenblatt, Kull & Bitsoli, PC
Certified Public Accountants
306 Main Street, Suite 400 • Worcester, MA 01608
508.791.0901 • www.grkb.com
from that demand, towns would receive
tax revenue, and it would mitigate people
from illegally obtaining their supply.
If a recreational pot store opened near
me, I would patron it.
- Brad Kane, editor
W
Correction: Fletcher Tilton attorney Mary Proulx's name
was misspelled in the feature "Serving clients' lifetime
needs" in the June 12 edition.
