Cannabis Business

November 16, 2020

Will Independent Operators Be Allowed to Deliver Marijuana?

It is unfortunate that the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) postponed its vote a few weeks ago to expand delivery licenses to independent operators.  Under the current law, delivery is allowed only for medical marijuana patients.  For recreational use, however, delivery must be connected to an existing cannabis business, a la an “uberEats” style courier.  This format has had the effect of allowing a few large companies to dominate the market and stifle competition. The proposed expansion would allow two delivery licenses for the recreational use of cannabis.  The first would be for marijuana operators who buy products wholesale from growers.  The second license would allow the courier to charge a fee to make deliveries from retailers and dispensaries licensed by the state.  Both delivery license formats are also reserved explicitly for participants in Massachusetts’ Social Equity or Economic Empowerment programs, designed to allow individuals from communities most harmed by a decades long drug war to benefit from the emergence of the new industry, for a period of three years. On October 20, 2020, the CCC voted in favor of the new rules but a group of lawmakers from the legislature sought and received a delay in implementing the liberalized […]
August 7, 2018

Is the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission Going to Enforce the Cap on Host Community Agreements?

The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission is finally putting some teeth into enforcement of the practice of cities and towns trying to extract additional fees from recreational marijuana businesses. At present, the law requires that recreational marijuana businesses obtain a “Host Community Agreement.” In other words, the marijuana operators must negotiate with the municipality to get their approval before they can locate their business within the community. This has opened up a point of leverage for the cities and towns to exploit their power. The Host Community Agreement allows the municipality to get a fee of up to 3 percent of their gross sales from the marijuana operators. Since the businesses must get the consent of the municipality when it applies for a license, the municipalities have used this opportunity to demand “voluntary” fees in excess of the 3 percent cap. As the Boston Globe reported recently, the municipalities are probably breaking the law.
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