Massachusetts is joining regulators from 19 states to found a new organization aimed at connecting state cannabis regulators, the state Cannabis Control Commission announced on Thursday.
CCC executive director Shawn Collins will serve on the group’s executive committee, according to the CCC.
Membership in the national group, called the Cannabis Regulators Association, or CANNRA, will be limited to regulatory figures and will exclude industry participants or advocacy organizations, although CANNRA plans to pull from both of those groups, as well as health officials, legal authorities and research organizations as it facilitates information sharing among participating states, according to the CCC.
CANNRA will be nonpartisan and will take no formal position on cannabis legalization, the CCC said, instead seeking to help government jurisdictions make informed decisions about legalizing and regulating cannabis.
“The Cannabis Regulators Association will provide a much-needed forum for regulators to engage with each other to identify and develop best practices, create model policies that safeguard public health and safety, and promote regulatory certainty for industry participants,” said Norman Birenbaum, CANNRA’s inaugural president and director of cannabis programs for New York state, in a statement.
Founding members of CANNRA include officials from Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, and Washington.
“The Cannabis Regulators Association will enable existing and newly legalizing states to continue sharing their experiences and expertise to ensure the nation’s growing cannabis industry incorporates the safe, accessible, and equitable policies that patients, consumers, and industry participants expect and deserve,” Collins said in a statement.
