Amendment 64's Brian Vicente spreading state's medical marijuana message to Massachusetts

After the passage of Amendment 64, opportunities abounded for its main proponents, Mason Tvert and Brian Vicente. But while Tvert said he had no immediate plans to spread the gospel about the measure to other states, despite being invited to do so in California by HBO's Bill Maher, Vicente is branching out, opening a law office in Massachusetts, which just legalized medical marijuana. And he'll be in the state tonight for an MMJ event.

"We're doing a free seminar," Vicente notes. The topic revolves around Question 3, the MMJ initiative approved by Massachusetts voters earlier this month; see the full text below. In Vicente's words, "we'll address what it means for patients, what it means for caregivers, and ultimately what it means for potential business owners."

The new office of Vicente Sederberg, LLC, is based in the Boston area, with Shaleen Title the attorney who'll be based there full time. Here's a video featuring Title:

Vicente decided to head east due in large part to the approval of Question 3, which he knows from the inside out. "I was actually consulted on the language," he says, "and we feel like the language is quite strong. It's closer to a one-size-fits-all medical marijuana law that allows patients to use marijuana and also allows a limited number of stores to be set up...35 to start, and additional stores can be added as the population demands."

Brian Vicente.

Another advantage of Question 3, from Vicente's perspective, is that it allows the use of medical marijuana "for any condition doctors feel is appropriate. And that includes post-traumatic stress disorder."

This mention isn't coincidental. Vicente has lobbied for PTSD to be added to Colorado's medical marijuana regulations as a condition that can be treated by MMJ -- but his entreaties have been rejected by the state Board of Health, which must approve additions to the approved list. That's not the case in Massachusetts, though. "The power is in the doctor's hands," Vicente says.

The result, he believes, offers the best of both MMJ worlds -- "a California-style model in terms of being open-ended about what patient conditions qualify, with a Colorado-style regulatory structure. So I think it's a really strong law."

Although Vicente will be splitting his time between Colorado and Massachusetts, at least in the short run, he stresses that "my primary focus will be on the implementation of Amendment 64." However, he goes on, "we saw a real opportunity to spread the Colorado model of medical marijuana in Massachusetts for patients and business owners."

Continue for information about tonight's free seminar in Massachusetts, as well as the complete text of Question 3.