As he sets out to stand up a legal marijuana industry here, Cannabis Control Commission Chairman Steven Hoffman said Wednesday he intends for retail marijuana sales to begin by July 2018, but did not guarantee that the nascent commission would meet that timeline.
Hoffman, a retired business executive and former Bain and Company partner selected by Treasurer Deborah Goldberg to chair the Cannabis Control Commission, met with reporters Wednesday to outline how he and the other four cannabis commissioners will go about their task.
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"My understanding is that it is an expectation, but not explicitly part of the law, that retail establishments open July 1 of 2018 and that's our intent at this point," Hoffman said. He also said he is a realist and that "if the reality is it can't be done, it can't be done. But I don't accept that right now."
After voting in December to delay many key aspects of the ballot law by six months, the Legislature's target date to begin licensing retail pot shops is June 1, 2018 in order to allow retail sales to begin in July.
