The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • B3

I A A 9 2 0 1 9 Metro B3 By Felicia Gans GLOBE STAFF In a stark reminder that marijuana is still legally risky in some parts of the United States, three Massachusetts women were arrested in up- state New York this week for allegedly trying to smuggle marijuana they had legally purchased in Canada into the United States. The women were arrested Monday morning while driving across the border from Canada at the Lewiston Queenston Bridge Port of Entry in Lewis- ton, N.Y., near Niagara Falls. Authorities say the women Briha K. Younger, 25; Jenae R. Johnson, 28; and Micaela G.

Ratcliffe, 28, all of Boston told a Customs and Border Protection officer that there were no marijuana products, narcotics, or contraband in the car. But Ratcliffe a record for a prior incident involving travel with accord- ing to a statement from US At- torney James P. Kennedy so the women were referred for a second inspection. An officer who searched the vehicle reportedly found mercial packaged marijuana and marijuana products in multiple as well as multi- ple joints in purse. The investigation had been law- fully purchased at marijuana dispensaries in possession of marijua- na and its importation into the United States remain federal Kennedy, who repre- sents the western district of New York, said in a statement.

fact that it may have been lawfully purchased in Canada does not change According to the complaint, Younger told authorities they had traveled to Toronto on Fri- day to attend a festival, and they went to several dispensa- ries while they were in Canada. All three women admitted to shopping at the dispensaries, and Johnson said she had the receipts from their purchases. Ratcliffe and Johnson each said they use marijuana to help them sleep, and Ratcliffe said she also uses it for migraines, according to the complaint. All three women were ar- rested at the scene, and ap- peared in court Tuesday, where they were released with condi- tions. They each face three charges: smuggling of goods into the United States, impor- tation of a controlled sub- stance, and possession of a controlled substance.

The charges could carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Fonda Dawn Kubiak, a pub- lic defender who represented all three women at their initial hearings and will represent Younger moving forward, said her goal is to ensure the wom- en get federal felony con- victions on their records, which could wreak havoc on their lives. cases are unfortu- nately otherwise law-abiding citizens getting caught in the dichotomy between legalized marijuana in certain states and countries, and overall US poli- cy that strictly prosecutes pos- session of she said. Kubiak warned that travel- ers need to be aware that even carrying small amounts of per- sonal-use, legally obtained marijuana across the border can have detrimental Kennedy said his office will continue to prosecute people who try bringing marijuana over the border into New York, particularly because of the dangers associated with driv- ing under the influence of mar- ijuana. He also reminded the public that marijuana possession, use, and distribution is against federal law, regardless of its status in Canada and US states that have legalized it.

Felicia Gans can be reached at felicia.gans@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter 3Mass. women face pot charges whose terms have technically expired could soon be forced to start defer- ring hearings on proposals for everything from patios to sky- scrapers. Araujo accused the council of and said that without a consistent quorum of at least five members, practi- cally all new development in Boston will grind to a halt. In addition to wasting the time of project proponents and neigh- bors who come to comment on their proposals, Araujo noted, deferred hearings must be re- advertised, costing taxpayers money.

I i a i she said in an inter- view. intention is to make sure that every applicant gets a fair hearing before a full board. I understand why buffer rule has to be linked to The disagreement has its roots in a February decision by the Walsh administration to award coveted host communi- ty agreements the contracts every recreational pot operator must sign with its municipality before it can win a state license to two proposed marijuana stores near Maverick Square in East Boston. When a Globe reporter uMARIJUANA Continued from Page B1 pointed out that the locations appeared to be just four-10ths of a mile apart, a Walsh spokes- woman initially insisted they were separated by precisely 3,168 feet, far more than the 2,640 feet in a half-mile. But by the time the two businesses appeared in March before the ZBA to seek a rou- tine zoning variance required of all marijuana facilities, offi- cials had conceded that the two properties were actually within a half-mile of one another.

The first business on the agenda, Berkshire Roots received its approval. The sec- ond, East Boston Bloom LLC, hastily requested a deferral af- ter ZBA members expressed confusion about the buffer rule and appeared poised to deny the company a variance. (It is now scheduled to appear be- fore the appeal board in Sep- tember.) Caught in an apparent mea- suring error, the Walsh admin- istration then adopted a legal argument proffered by East Boston attorneys: that the buffer rule even mat- ter, since neither company had received permission from the Inspectional Services De- partment to open. That, they now insist, is corporate con- ception the moment a mari- juana company officially, legal- ly comes into Before the March hearing, however, there was broad agreement that the half-mile rule would be enforced during the process of negotiating host community agreements, with administration officials pick- ing which pot business could proceed in any given area be- fore proceeding to the ZBA for a rubber stamp. In fact, the Walsh administration previ- ously told the Globe that was how the system worked, and even shot down several propos- als for being too close to oth- ers.

But under the new interpre- tation, it suddenly appeared that multiple pot businesses within a half-mile of one an- other could be approved and then race to become the first to open their doors and begin thereby forcing any others nearby to return to the ZBA and seek an exception to the half-mile buffer. The about- face enraged applicants and ac- tivists. City Council President Mi- chelle Wu and other councilors say interpretation is nonsensical. Since no recre- ational marijuana facilities have opened, they argued, de- fining as meaning only stores that have opened would effectively nullify the rule. Along with critics from the marijuana industry and ad- vocacy community, they ques- tion why the administration abruptly changed its view of the seemingly simple rule, call- ing the process unfair and in- consistent for both residents and businesses.

was a simple yes or no question, and the council owes it to our constituents to receive Wu said. to this embarrassment happen- ing live at the ZBA hearing, there had been no hint that anyone in the city was thinking about it this The way Wu sees it, mari- juana businesses already by the time they appear be- fore the ZBA. filed the paper- work and paid thousands of dollars to get a she said. already functioning as a Araujo disagrees. should have put it very clearly and said any business instead of if that was their she countered.

need to go by the black-and-white text in the statute. honestly not trying to contort anything or play Araujo said the delay has left the ZBA in a perilous posi- tion, since members cannot al- ways make the weekly meetings and sometimes need to recuse themselves from vot- ing on a project. However, Wu placed blame mostly at feet, saying his administration should have signed host com- munity agreements that were in violation of the zoning in the first place. The fight comes as the City Council is debating a proposal by Councilor Kim Janey to completely restructure Bos- marijuana approval pro- cess by creating an indepen- dent board to evaluate applica- tions and prioritizing the approval of businesses owned by locals and those affected by the war on drugs. The fight over the buffer rule has alarmed both marijua- na entrepreneurs and develop- ment insiders.

never seen going back almost 50 years a situa- tion where a group of people got held up like said de- velopment attorney and for- mer city councilor Larry Di- Cara. is one of those ones where suggest everybody get together in a room and work it out, because in the long run, having a board of appeal without a quorum is real big Dan Adams can be reached at daniel.adams@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter City officials in dispute over marijuana store rule of the data get taken by the old people walking out a very valuable asset that Non- Profit no longer the chairman said. pret- ty much what happened Salesforce did not respond to e-mails seeking comment. Baker committee aides said they, too, have been locked out from Salesforce since last month.

They said they made an offer through Salesforce to work with the state party to come up with an appropriate division of donor databases, which include years of informa- tion. But they said the Mass- GOP replied, through Sales- force, that the party is not inter- ested in such a division. For his part, Lyons said, someone takes some- thing inappropriately away from someone, why would you want to negotiate with them to begin In response to questions from the Globe, Jim Conroy, a uGOP Continued from Page B1 senior Baker political adviser who helps run the political committee said, Baker Committee has enjoyed working closely with the party for years, sharing resources and information, and hopes to con- tinue to do The genesis of the dispute is somewhat unclear, and both the Baker Committee and the MassGOP were guarded in what they would tell the Globe. But it appears to coincide with ascension to party chairman in January. Lyons, a former state repre- sentative from Andover known for his advocacy against abor- tion rights, succeeded Kirsten Hughes, a staunch Baker ally who vie for another term.

According to the MassGOP letter, written by Arlington law- yer David W. Carr, the state party had paid for a Salesforce subscription since 2015. It sug- gests that Baker aides tried to take control of that subscrip- tion after Lyons was elected. The letter stated that a Salesforce investigation found an e-mail exchange involving top Baker aides, including Con- roy and fund-raising guru John Cook, a week after Lyons was elected. The exchange was about a $12,273.79 check from the Bak- er Committee to Salesforce payment of an invoice to the according to the let- ter.

The letter also said, check tendered by Baker was accompanied by a curt explanation that the November, 2018 invoice was from the wrong with a request that Salesforce accept payment from an entity with no relationship to the sub- scribing request did not origi- nate from the letter said. It added: made no effort to contact its subscrib- er, MassGOP, to discuss this highly unusual State campaign finance re- cords show the Baker Commit- tee paid Salesforce $12,273.79 on Jan. 28. Federal election fil- ings show years of past pay- ments from the MassGOP to Salesforce.com. While Baker had once en- dorsed Lyons for his state rep- resentative seat, they hold di- vergent political views and un- der leadership, the messaging has shifted sharply from politically successful focused-on-Massa- chusetts-allergic-to-Trump rhetoric.

Chairman Lyons: President Trump one press release read. Baker, who supports abor- tion rights, signed a law last year that reaffirmed a right to have a legal abortion. Lyons has been a strong advo- cate against abortion rights, and in April the state Republi- can Party denounced a Demo- cratic-led effort to expand abor- tion access as Joshua Miller can be reached at joshua.miller@globe.com. State GOP, Baker team feud over donor databases DIFFERENCE OF OPINION Governor Charlie Baker (left) and Massachusetts Republican Party chairman Jim Lyons hold divergent political views. PHOTOS BY DAVID L.

STAFF MODEL NAVY A cranberry bog in Carver drew a group of remote- control sailboat fans on Monday. Far left, Rick Moyer, Cliff Sampson, and Mike Dunfee guided their vessels. Left, Mal Stone worked on his boat. The sailors are old friends from the Plymouth area..