Photo | Courtesy of Attorney General Maura Healey's office
Ava Callender Concepcion
September 28, 2023
Cannabis Control Commission tightens regulations on host communities, works to diversify industry
Photo | WBJ File
The Cannabis Control Commission occupies the second floor of Union Station.
By Isabel Tehan
The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission on Friday voted 3-1 to approve final changes to regulations for adult recreational and medical marijuana usage. The updated regulations will impact oversight of host community agreements, municipal equity requirements, and suitability reform.
Under the new regulations, the commission has authority to issue sanctions against host communities not in compliance with the HCA and abstain from considering new license applications in that host community, according to a Wednesday press release from the CCC. The commission will be able to make public a list of host communities out of compliance. The CCC will be required to complete HCA reviews within a maximum of 90 days of receipt of applications from potential licensees.
The CCC will implement additional regulations to satisfy the requirement of positively impacting communities disproportionately harmed by cannabis prohibition during the War on Drugs, as the overwhelming majority of the initial licenses went to white men, defying the intent of the 2016 ballot initiative legalizing recreational marijuana. Updated regulations will expand the commission’s precertification process and increase transparency into municipal licensing frameworks.
“Commissioners and staff have worked tirelessly for months to revise our regulations – driving a transparent process and listening to feedback from diverse constituents, convening numerous public meetings, and making thoughtful changes,” acting chair of the CCC, Ava Callender Concepcion, said in the press release. “I am grateful to our partners in the Legislature and in the Executive Branch for entrusting us with the authority to move the agency and industry forward and am proud of the final product that we will be filing with the Secretary of the Commonwealth.”
Concepcion is temporarily acting chair of the commission, following the suspension of Shannon O’Brien from the role.
The approval follows months of staff review during a period of turmoil and confusion at the commission.
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