Massachusetts
Sell Flavored Tobacco in Massachusetts, Go To Jail
Massachusetts outlawed flavored tobacco. Now, just as criminal justice groups warned, a vape shop owner is serving time.
A Massachusetts School District Rolled Back Advanced Classes. Teachers Are Starting To Revolt.
A group of parents tried to resist the changes years ago but say they were smeared as racists.
Massachusetts Court Weighs Whether All Prostitution Is Sex Trafficking
Five "traffickers" arrested for responding to an undercover cop's sex ad are challenging their convictions in the state's high court.
This Week's Election Results Are a Discouraging Sign for Drug Policy Reformers
Despite a few bright spots, the disappointing returns suggest that the road to pharmacological freedom will be rockier than activists hoped.
Massachusetts Voters Reject Decriminalization of 5 Natural Psychedelics
The initiative also would have authorized state-licensed "psychedelic therapy centers."
Massachusetts Voters Protect the Right To Work for Tips
The tug-of-war over what role the government should play in regulating compensation for tipped workers has subverted typical partisan lines.
Voters in 5 States Will Decide Whether To Legalize Marijuana or Psychedelics Next Week
The ballot initiatives would allow recreational marijuana use in Florida and the Dakotas, authorize medical marijuana in Nebraska, and decriminalize five natural psychedelics in Massachusetts.
D.C.'s COVID-Era Eviction Policies Come Back To Bite
Plus: Massachusetts NIMBYs get their day in court, Pittsburgh one-step forward, two-steps back approach to zoning reform, and a surprisingly housing-heavy VP debate.
In Massachusetts, Sex Workers Get Charged and Clients Get Set Free
This flies in the face of one popular narrative.
Massachusetts Switchblade Ban Overturned on Second Amendment Grounds
The Second Amendment doesn’t protect guns; it protects the human right to self-defense.
Emergency Contraception Fills in Massachusetts Spiked After This Policy Change
Making emergency contraception easier to get leads to more people getting emergency contraception. Who would've guessed?
Netflix's 'Don't Look Up' Got $46 Million From Massachusetts Taxpayers
According to recently updated figures, more than half of the state's film production credits for 2021 went to just one film, whose two stars collectively earned over $50 million.
Banning Flavored Tobacco Products Doesn't Work—We Have the Trash To Prove It
Researchers examined garbage placed in public receptacles in Washington, D.C., and New York City and found that the locales’ bans on flavored tobacco products have unquestionably failed.
'An Embarrassing Mistake': Neil Gorsuch Rails Into Florida's Use of 6-Person Juries
The Sixth Amendment was originally seen as vital to preserving liberty. Yet it has been consistently watered down.
Expanding the Drug War To Include Tobacco Would Be a Big Mistake
The judicially approved Brookline ban reflects a broader trend among progressives who should know better.
Does This Laundry Look 'Historic' to You?
Plus: Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs dithers over whether to veto bipartisan Starter Homes bill, Biden says "build, build, build," and Massachusetts sues anti-apartment suburb.
Good Times, Bad Times: Eviction Edition
Plus: Voters in Massachusetts reject state-mandated upzonings, Florida localities rebel against a surprisingly effective YIMBY reform, and lawsuits target missing middle housing in Virginia.
State-Licensed Pot Suppliers Say Federal Prohibition Is Unconstitutional As Applied to Them
A federal lawsuit argues that it is time to reassess the Commerce Clause rationale for banning intrastate marijuana production and distribution.
Massachusetts Considers Ban on Sale of Phone Location Data
Abortion and privacy activists join over concerns that cell phones track our movements.
Massachusetts' Wealth Tax Encouraged NBA's Grant Williams To Sign With Dallas
Grant Williams breaks down the math: "$54 million in Dallas is really like $58 million in Boston."
Massachusetts District Attorney Sued for Refusing To Release Names of Problem Cops
Massachusetts reformed its notoriously bad public records laws in 2020, but reporters are still fighting to get the police misconduct files they're legally entitled to.
'Cash Is Independence': Ron DeSantis Slams the Government's Plan for Centrally-Controlled Digital Money
"If you don't trust central authority, then you should see this immediately as something that is very problematic," says the Florida governor.
'Reprehensible and Plainly Unconstitutional': Child Welfare Agents Took Their Kids. Now They're Suing.
Even though a family pediatrician said she had "zero concerns," child welfare services still seized Josh Sabey's and Sarah Perkins' two young children. It took four months for the couple to regain custody.
States Try To Reform Prostitution Laws—for Better and Worse
New bills in six states showcase some right and wrong ways to help sex workers, from full decriminalization to ramping up penalties for prostitution customers.
Let Massholes Be Massholes, Says Bay State's High Court
Criticism of public officials doesn't have to be polite, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court confirmed.
Massachusetts' Tobacco Ban Went as Badly as You'd Expect
And now the state thinks it needs to crack down even more.
Massachusetts Voters Ended Rent Control Decades Ago. Boston's Mayor Wants To Bring It Back.
The city's old-school rent control scheme worsened housing quality but had no effect on housing supply. Mayor Michelle Wu's new rent control law will likely have the opposite effect.
They Fell Behind on Their Property Taxes. So the Government Sold Their Homes—and Kept the Profits.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear 94-year-old Geraldine Tyler's case challenging home equity theft.
Teachers Unions Spent $22 Million Backing Massachusetts 'Millionaire's Tax'
The constitutional amendment is an attempt to undermine the state's flat income tax system.
Driving Electric Cars Produces Little Carbon. Making the Batteries Produces a Lot.
Many politicians who want to ban gas-powered vehicles appear to misunderstand the science.
Don't Use Immigrants as Political Pawns
The best rebuke to the Biden administration's inhumane border policies is for Republican governors to welcome migrants into their states.
If Ron DeSantis Hates Communism, He Shouldn't Weaponize Victims of Communism
The governor flew dozens of Venezuelans to Martha's Vineyard at taxpayer expense, even though they fled a regime he says "is responsible for countless atrocities."
Libertarian Party Faces State Rebellions
The Libertarian Party's state affiliates in New Mexico and Virginia have broken away amid ideological and procedural turmoil—and the Virginia branch may have dissolved entirely.
A Psychiatric Facility Punishes Residents With Painful Electric Shocks. Now It's Trying To Sue Its Critics.
The Judge Rotenberg Center, which has been condemned by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, is suing a small nonprofit for defamation after they published a survey critical of the school's practices.
How a Massachusetts Power Plant Illustrates America's Fraught Shift to Green Energy
Brayton Point was a coal-fired plant that tried to clean up its act. Protesters and politicians demanded its closure. A new offshore wind project won't be sufficient to replace it.
President Biden Asserts 'Climate Change Is an Emergency'
But does not declare that it is a "national emergency."
Politicians Defy the Supreme Court's Ruling on the Right To Bear Arms
Several states are retaining subjective criteria for carry permits or imposing new restrictions on gun possession.
State Reactions to the SCOTUS Ruling Against Discretionary Carry-Permit Laws Range From Compliance to Defiance
Some states promptly eliminated subjective standards, while others refused to recognize the decision's implications.
Massachusetts Lawmakers Say They Want to Loosen Booze Rules. This Proposal Would Do the Opposite.
The fine print of the latest alcohol regulation proposal in Massachusetts is revealing.
