Cannabis companies should remain mindful of the importance of creating and maintaining a comprehensive written data security program. No cannabis company should aspire to being subject to response costs, regulatory fines, and potential lawsuits that follow the theft or inadvertent disclosures of legally protected or commercially sensitive data or, even worse, harming customers by enabling […]
Massachusetts
It Will Be ‘Years’ Before Marijuana Cafes Open In Massachusetts, Regulators Say
The days when marijuana users will be able to congregate at an establishment in Massachusetts and socially consume the drug are years away, cannabis regulators said Tuesday, and it is likely that any social consumption will be limited to vaping and edibles. The Cannabis Control Commission has the authority under the 2016 voter law legalizing adult-use […]
Why can’t Massachusetts medical marijuana labs also test recreational?
By early next month, it will be two years since Massachusetts voters declared they wanted marijuana legalized for recreational use by approving a ballot question. But not one recreational marijuana shop has been permitted to open. State law requires samples be tested to ensure that marijuana products are safe to ingest. A big reason for the […]
Slow rollout on retail marijuana is shrinking Massachusetts’ estimated taxes, advocates say
Saying Massachusetts has missed out on $16 million in marijuana taxes, officials behind the 2016 legal marijuana ballot question on Monday pointed to staffing levels and bureaucracy at the Cannabis Control Commission as potential reasons for the slow rollout of retail sales in Massachusetts. “The Cannabis Control Commission needs to pick up the pace,” Will […]
Massachusetts’ First Recreational Pot Sales Could Be Days Away
More than two months after recreational marijuana sales became legal in Massachusetts, the first wave of retailers is still working to open to the public. But the first sales could happen soon. Eleven potential marijuana shops are awaiting site inspections, the last step before they can seek final approval of their business license applications from the Cannabis […]
Massachusetts marijuana growers threaten to sue Cannabis Control Commission
An organization representing Massachusetts marijuana growers is considering a lawsuit to compel the Cannabis Control Commission to review the statutorily-required agreements between marijuana businesses and their host towns, something the commission has resisted doing under the impression it does not have the authority to do so. Peter Bernard, president of the Massachusetts Grower Advocacy Council, told […]
Massachusetts marijuana retailers could get final go-ahead this month
A handful of the marijuana businesses granted provisional licenses have informed the Cannabis Control Commission they are ready to be inspected, one of the final steps before retail sales of marijuana, approved by voters almost two years ago, can begin. Commission chairman Steven Hoffman said Thursday that the agency is working to schedule inspections for […]
Massachusetts marijuana panel is getting a lot of criticism after a recent ruling
The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission is facing a growing backlash over its recent decision not to crack down on excessive payments from marijuana companies to municipalities — but with state legislators unlikely to force the commission’s hand any time soon, observers say, the controversy seems destined to end up in court. The panel on Thursday […]
Marijuana Entrepreneurs Given ‘Priority’ In Mass. Are Struggling To Get Through Licensing Process
So you’ve got priority in getting your marijuana license application reviewed in Massachusetts. But you’ve got a major hurdle ahead of you — getting through the actual application. Applicants who get priority are from communities disproportionately criminalized for marijuana — like people of color. Marijuana use is similar among different groups, but minorities have been punished for it at far […]
Marijuana is legal in Massachusetts, but the feds are still looking to prosecute cases here in these three areas
US Attorney Andrew Lelling, the top federal prosecutor in Massachusetts, on Tuesday pointed to three marijuana-related areas his office plans to focus on as the state keeps moving into the era of legal pot. The Cannabis Control Commission, the new state agency tasked with overseeing the burgeoning industry, has started issue the licenses needed for […]
MMJ Dispensary In Massachusetts Receives First License To Sell Recreational Cannabis
Massachusetts hit another milestone in its era of legalized marijuana: State regulators granted Cultivate a license to sell recreational marijuana at the company’s existing medical marijuana dispensary in Leicester. The five-member Cannabis Control Commission unanimously voted to grant the retail license to Cultivate Holdings, Inc., which operates the first medical marijuana dispensary in Worcester County. Medical […]
Ruling By AG Maura Healey Could Slow Massachusetts Marijuana Industry
Attorney General Maura Healey is giving cities and towns more power to slow down the recreational marijuana industry, ruling that local officials can unilaterally prohibit cannabis companies for another year without polling residents. The decision, approving an extension of Mansfield’s temporary moratorium on pot shops and other marijuana businesses through June 2019, was released Friday […]
Marijuana milestone as Mass. issues first recreational pot license
The recreational marijuana era is officially underway in Massachusetts. Officials at the Cannabis Control Commission on Thursday afternoon granted the state’s first-ever recreational marijuana license to a cultivation facility in Milford operated by Sira Naturals. The unanimous decision by the agency’s five commissioners is a major milestone in the long process of implementing the state’s […]
First Adult-Use Cannabis License Granted on Eastern Seaboard
PRESS RELEASE Sira Naturals Receives Approval To Produce Cannabis For Adult-Use In Massachusetts MILFORD, Mass. June 21, 2018 – Sira Naturals, One of Massachusetts’ largest registered marijuana dispensary (RMD) group, today announced that it has received approval from the Cannabis Control Commission (CNB) for a Tier 3 Cultivation License. This license, the first granted in […]
Recreational Marijuana Shops In Massachusetts Might Not Be Able To Open By July 1
Prospects for retail pot shops opening for business in Massachusetts by a July 1 target date appear to be dimming. The state’s Cannabis Control Commission met Thursday without issuing the first commercial business licenses under the state’s voter-approved recreational marijuana law. Steven Hoffman, the commission chairman, told reporters that regulators hope to begin issuing licenses […]
The Amended Massachusetts Equal Pay Act
The amended Massachusetts Equal Pay Act (MEPA) goes into effect July 1, 2018. The purpose of the new law is to ensure that all workers in Massachusetts are paid equally for comparable work performed and to provide the opportunity to earn competitive salaries in the workplace. This new law imposes strict equal pay obligations on […]
Will Recreational Marijuana Stores In Massachusetts Help Or Hurt Medical Marijuana Patients?
Mike Crawford, a medical marijuana patient and longtime advocate for marijuana legalization, may not buy much marijuana in recreational shops, since he has a medical card that lets him get the drug tax-free. But he is looking forward to recreational stores opening. “If there’s enough competition, the price will go down,” Crawford predicted. As recreational […]
How Much Will Legal Cannabis Cost Once It Hits The Shops In Massachusetts?
For states that have legalized recreational marijuana, the new authorized markets have carried the promise of increasingly cheap weed. In Colorado, wholesale cannabis prices have dropped roughly 35 percent since their 2015 peak. In Oregon, some pot shops reportedly sell grams of weed for less than a glass of craft beer. Massachusetts residents will likely have to wait awhile […]
