HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2852        FILED ON: 2/18/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2100

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Bradford Hill

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act to fund comprehensive public awareness campaigns to include mental health harms of marijuana use.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2852        FILED ON: 2/18/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2100

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

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An Act to fund comprehensive public awareness campaigns to include mental health harms of marijuana use.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Section 14 of chapter 94G of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking clause (b) and inserting in place thereof the following:

(b) Money in the fund shall be subject to appropriation. Money in the fund shall be expended for the implementation, administration and enforcement of this chapter by the commission and by the department of agricultural resources for the implementation, administration and enforcement of sections 116 to 123, inclusive, of chapter 128 and the provision of pesticide control pursuant to chapter 132B. Thereafter, money in the fund shall be expended for: (i) public and behavioral health including but not limited to, evidence-based and evidence-informed substance use prevention and treatment and substance use early intervention services in a recurring grant for school districts or community coalitions who operate on the strategic prevention framework or similar structure for youth substance use education and prevention; (ii) at least $3,000,000 dollars of cannabis tax revenues annually shall go to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and be used for research, development and implementation of mass and social media campaigns to educate the public on health risks associated with marijuana/THC consumption, including but not limited to, the risks to mental health (e.g, increased risk of psychosis, schizophrenia, suicidal thoughts, etc), risk of use during pregnancy, risks of early use, and use of high potency products to include risks of home extraction of marijuana concentrates. The vendor selected for this public health awareness campaign shall have experience with similar campaigns and shall be selected jointly by the Department of Public Health and Department of Mental Health. (iii) public safety; (iv) municipal police training; (v) the Prevention and Wellness Trust Fund established in section 2G of chapter 111; and (vi) programming for restorative justice, jail diversion, workforce development, industry specific technical assistance, and mentoring services for economically-disadvantaged persons in communities disproportionately impacted by high rates of arrest and incarceration for marijuana offenses pursuant to chapter 94C.