Massachusetts legislation to contemporize the state’s cannabis laws gained uncontested support among House and Senate lawmakers this week and is now heading to Gov. Maura Healey’s desk. Pending the democratic executive’s signature, it’ll be out with the old, in with the new.
The legislation, An Act Modernizing the Commonwealth’s Cannabis Laws, is jam-packed with updates to the Bay State’s 11-year-old medical and 7-year-old adult-use programs. It also includes sweeping implications for intoxicating hemp products.
The centerpiece of the bill includes an overhaul of the state’s Cannabis Control Commission (CCC), reducing the number of commissioners from five to three – all appointed by the governor – and clarifying that the regulatory body’s executive director reports directly to the CCC chair. The legislation mandates specific duties and timelines for the CCC to follow, including the development of various reports (more on this below).
The legislation would also increase business license limits to six; double dispensary purchase limits to 2 ounces of flower; remove a requirement that medical cannabis businesses be vertically integrated; loosen restrictions on advertising; establish an online tips portal for anonymous complaints of suspected program violations; install a credit compliance tool through a public delinquency list of licensees who haven’t paid their debts; and promote the growth of small and equity-driven businesses.
In addition, the bill would direct the CCC to adopt potency-based equivalency standards for purchase limits on concentrates and other products.
These provisions – and others – represent reconciliations among bicameral lawmakers ahead of this week’s final passage. After House members voted, 155-0, to pass the legislation on April 8, the Senate approved the measure by voice vote on April 9.
Sen. Adam Gómez, D-Hampden, who co-chaired the bicameral committee, said ahead of Thursday’s floor vote that the finalized legislation reflects months of testimony and “years of lived industry experience” from municipalities, public health experts, small businesses, workers, patients and community advocates.
“Our industry has matured, and our regulatory system has not always kept pace,” he said. “What we present today strengthens oversight. It clarifies governance. It supports economic stability for operators. It improves public health reporting and expands equitable participation and brings consistency to consumer access.”
In the House, Rep. Daniel M. Donahue, D-Worcester, who also co-chaired the bicameral committee, said ahead of Wednesday’s floor vote that the legislation aims to provide the commonwealth with the “most effective and efficient” regulatory framework to help ensure licensed cannabis businesses can succeed.
“I think some of these regulatory changes have been a long time coming and are something that we should be proud that we’re undertaking to support our businesses,” he said.
In streamlining the CCC’s personnel structure, the bill would require at least one of the governor’s three commissioner appointees to have a background in social justice, while the other two would need to have experience or expertise in public health, public safety, consumer commodity regulation or the production and distribution of cannabis. No more than two of the commissioners could be from the same political party, and the governor could oust a commissioner under various circumstances, including inefficiency or neglect of duty.
With long-lasting controversies hovering over the current CCC, Gómez said the new approach would protect both accountability and integrity, “ensuring the commission is able to operate more effectively and restore industry confidence.”
The legislation would also require the CCC to conduct, or work with partner agencies to conduct, new studies on:
- cannabis legalization’s potential public health impacts, including youth use, impaired driving and hospitalizations
- the impact of the state’s 10.75% cannabis excise tax on demand and illicit activity
- the appropriate number of business licenses, access to business capital, and the adequacy of supply and price sensitivity for patients and consumers
- regulations around workplace safety and cannabis testing
- effective regulations of the hemp-derived cannabinoid market that consider the federal government’s forthcoming ban on intoxicating products
“The federal government and Congress have enacted new hemp guidance and new hemp regulations that closed the loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill that led to the proliferation of illicit hemp throughout the commonwealth, from gas stations to convenience stores,” Donahue said. “We’re going to continue the work of studying the issue, of focusing on how best to respond to the new federal action, knowing that we need to ensure that illicit hemp is kept out of the hands of those who are underage, and that is not unfairly burning our legal cannabis industry.”
Also under the legislation, it would become unlawful for any cannabis licensee to receive or extend credit, directly or indirectly, for cannabis products sold or delivered to any licensee beyond 60 days.
Should a cannabis business not pay in full its indebtedness within a 60-day credit extension, the CCC would be required to post the name and address of the licensee on a “delinquent business list.” It would then become unlawful for other businesses to sell or deliver cannabis, directly or indirectly, to the delinquent business until the debt is paid off.
“If a cannabis business does not pay its debts to another cannabis business within 60 days, it will be noted, and no other business may transact with it until that debt is resolved,” Gómez said. “This model is used in other regulatory industries to enforce basic fairness and protect small businesses from predatory practices.”
The bill would also double the business license limit to six, stipulating that no licensee shall be granted more than six marijuana retailer licenses, three fully integrated medical marijuana treatment center licenses, three marijuana product manufacturer licenses or three marijuana cultivator licenses.
Furthermore, the legislation would raise the threshold of how much equity in a business is considered ownership, from 10% to 20%, in an effort to provide flexibility toward the license cap.
Gómez said this provision intends to strike a balance between closing loopholes that allowed “hidden consolidation” and preserving reasonable investment pathways for small operators and equity applicants.
Additional flexibilities come in the form of loosening restrictions on advertising, marketing and branding, allowing retail businesses to promote sales, discounts and loyalty programs inside their dispensaries and through opt-in emails.
Lastly, the legislation dictates that licensed cannabis delivery businesses are allowed to deliver to any municipality in the commonwealth unless the municipality, one, does not authorize cannabis establishments within its limits and, two, requests a waiver from the CCC allowing it to prohibit cannabis deliveries. The municipality would need to request the waiver every two years.
In describing the bill as having three pillars – regulatory efficiency, economic modernization and consumer liberty – Gómez said the policy decisions within were based not on anecdote, but on evidence.
“Colleagues, this bill is both an evolution and a course correction,” he said. “It improves governance, strengthens integrity, modernizes economic rules and centers equity in real, measurable ways. … It protects consumers and patients, supports small businesses and equity applicants, and provides clear data-driven pathways for future adjustments as the market continues to evolve.”
