It’s looking more and more likely that Massachusetts’ recreational marijuana law could be a lot different than the one we, 1.8 million of us, approved in November. A very different marijuana bill came out of committee yesterday, which included an increase in the tax rate of marijuana from 12 percent, which voters approved last year, to 28 percent. The proposal would also grant local city councils and boards of selectmen the authority to limit or ban retail stores. In the original version, that power went exclusively to the voters. House Speaker Robert DeLeo told reporters they were postponing a vote on the proposal, originally scheduled for Thursday, but hope to have a bill on the governor’s desk by the end of the month. Jim Borghesani, spokesman for Yes on 4, the group that sponsored the original ballot question, and Representative Aaron Vega, a Holyoke Democrat, who serves on the Marijuana Policy Committee, joined Jim Braude for more on what’s next.
Over the past few weeks, the US-led coalition in Syria has been increasing air strikes, particularly in and around Raqqa. While the goal is to re-take the area from ISIS, United Nations officials estimate the bombings have killed 300 civilians since March and forced about 160,000 more to flee. It's just the latest battle waging in the five-year war in Syria. The turmoil there is the subject of a new documentary on National Geographic called “Hell on Earth: The Fall of Syria and the Rise of ISIS.” Academy Award-nominated filmmaker and bestselling author, and one of the two men behind this documentary, Sebastian Junger, joined Jim to discuss the film.
Jim’s thoughts on restaurants increasingly putting the squeeze on customers – literally.
