“The Town’s characterization of ACK’s conduct as a ‘flagrant’ or ‘undeniable’ violation is not supported by the facts”
As was first reported in late March, the Town of Nantucket issued a cease and desist order to ACK Natural “to prevent the island dispensary from delivering cannabis products around Nantucket.”
The hyperlocal Current reported: “Citing a local Nantucket zoning bylaw that states ‘Delivery of cannabis products to consumers is prohibited,’ zoning enforcement officer Marcus Silverstein issued a cease-and-desist letter to ACK Natural in mid-February, just months after it launched its delivery service in partnership with the company Social J, a licensed marijuana courier.”
Naturally, “while the dispensary is complying with the order to halt cannabis deliveries, it argues that it is allowed to do so under state law, which supersedes the local zoning bylaw.” And last week, ACK Natural’s attorneys responded. We excerpted from the response below …
… We believe the Town’s letter reflects a number of legal and factual conclusions that warrant clarification.
As an initial matter, ACK does not hold a marijuana courier license and does not itself conduct courier operations. Any delivery of products associated with ACK’s retail sales is performed, by an independently licensed third-party marijuana courier regulated by the Cannabis Control Commission.
Under the framework established by Chapter 94G of the Massachusetts General Laws and implementing regulations, those entities operate as separate licensees with distinct compliance obligations. Accordingly, ACK’s activities are properly characterized and statutorily limited to retail sales. ACK does not possess a delivery license and therefore cannot conduct delivery business.
The Town’s characterization of ACK’s conduct as a “flagrant” or “undeniable” violation is not supported by the facts. ACK has always acted in good faith. Upon receiving the Town’s concerns, ACK and its counsel promptly reviewed its practices and took steps to assure all of his activities met CCC regulations and state statute.
Any website or marketing references cited by the Town do not establish that ACK itself conducted delivery operations or that there has been any material deviation from its licensed retail activities. This is not a circumstance involving willful disregard, but rather a good faith dispute over contractual and statutory interpretation.
To be continued …
