The Massachusetts Senate Continues Work On Recreational Marijuana Bill

BOSTON (CBS) -- The Massachusetts Senate is working to hammer out a bill to regulate recreational marijuana. Most of what's on the table reverses the House bill passed late Wednesday evening.

The House bill raised taxes on recreational marijuana to about 28 percent. However, the House version doesn't change the amount of marijuana someone can legally own and doesn't change how many plants someone can grow inside their homes.

There are about 100 proposed amendments to the senate version of the bill.

The present current Senate version keeps the tax rate at 12 percent and lets local governments decide how many pot shops can open in their town or city.

The Senate version of the marijuana bill would also require an annual revenue audit and limits on the number of licenses any one person can hold. The Cannabis Control Commission would determine how many licenses are reasonable. At the same time, the Senate rejected more local fees and increased the number of inspections.

Somerville Senator Patricia Jehlen is sponsoring the bill and she says her bill respects the decision made by the voters in November.

WBZ reported that most supporters of recreational marijuana support the senate's version of the bill.

Senators say they'll have a final version of their bill by the end of business Thursday.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Lana Jones reports