July 1 will come and go this weekend without the celebratory first adult-use cannabis sales that were foretold in Massachusetts two years ago, when the state developed a regulatory framework for its voter-approved cannabis law, and last fall, when state regulators landed on the July deadline.
Rather, those businesses that are awaiting news on their state license are left in a period of limbo, and so are their customers.
“I have resisted making a forecast and I will continue to resist making a forecast," Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) chairman Steven Hoffman said June 26 during a press conference. "We are going to issue licenses on an ongoing basis. They have to become final licenses; we have to get city and town approval. There are too many moving parts so I’m not making a forecast."
The state has received 18 cannabis retail applicants—and 61 complete applications across all business categories, like cultivation and product manufacturing. (The CCC has received 1,615 total applications, though the vast majority of them are incomplete.)
Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission June 26, 2018, presentation by sandydocs on Scribd
The CCC has intimated to local news outlets that it will be issuing cannabis business licenses during the first week in July; the next public meeting is July 2. But once retail licenses are granted, there remains the matter of licensing cannabis testing facilities. As in other states, cannabis products may not be sold without first being tested by an independent and state-licensed laboratory. Reportedly, one lab is in the process of applying for a cannabis business license.
That said, the CCC realigned its priorities and will review testing lab applications as soon as they are received.
As of press time, on June 28, the Cannabis Control Commission had issued only one adult-use license: a cultivation license for Milford-based Sira Naturals, which has also applied for multiple retail licenses.
Top photo courtesy of Adobe Stock
