New Bedford Weed Licensing on Slo-Mo [OPINION]

I am not a fan of the legalization of recreational marijuana, but it's the law. So let's hurry the hell up and implement it, for crying out loud!

In their infinite wisdom, the good folks of New Bedford saw fit to vote to legalize recreational marijuana. I don't quite get it, but hey, whatever. Half of the fun of smoking a bone as a kid was knowing that you were getting away with something.

Why is it taking so long to implement the law? New Bedford should have had weed shops open a long time ago. Other cities have. Here in New Bedford, we stalled and then dragged our feet and then we drew maps and now we hold meetings. Let's expedite this.

Councilor at Large Ian Abreu tells me he can't say with any certainty that we will have a pot shop open this calendar year. It's March. That means we are probably at least nine months away from buying weed legally in New Bedford.

The city is not going to make a tremendous amount of revenue from pot sales. The max we can collect is three percent. What matters is that the people voted in favor of the statewide ballot referendum and we should have been prepared and ready to roll, pun definitely intended, as soon as the ballots were counted.

When we finishing diddling and dawdling the state must still sign off on what we submit before a pot shop can open. What say we fast track this?

By the way, I get dibs on the munch wagon concession.

Barry Richard is the host of The Barry Richard Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. Contact him at barry@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @BarryJRichard58. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.