Mandated compendium is light on self-criticism but still full of critical info on everything from licensing and closures to enforcement actions
Another year, another Annual Activities Report from the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission. It’s the CCC’s seventh such summary since launching in late 2018, and like past rundowns of agency happenings, this one is both thorough and blatantly self-congratulatory. Think of it as a performance review that is graciously written by the subjects of the broad assessment.
“The Commission has built upon its legislative mandate to implement a successful adult-use marijuana industry and Medical Use of Marijuana Program and has matured beyond a startup organization,” the document reads in its summary of general findings. It continues: “To that end, the agency continues to make significant progress in priority areas identified by the Legislature and is well prepared to implement and execute critical new statutes while continuing to serve as a national leader in promoting public health and safety in the industry and building an inclusive marketplace.”
An introduction section adds: “The previous year has marked a pivotal chapter in the Commission’s history due to the implementation of major, critical updates in state laws regarding municipal equity requirements, oversight of HCAs, and new abilities for municipalities to opt-in to allow for social consumption licensing within their borders. It also included significant milestones, such as back-to-back record setting months of Marijuana Retail sales in June, July and August 2023, culminating in more than $6 billion in aggregate gross adultuse sales in August.”
There’s very little in the report which indicates that the commission has faced seismic troubles over the past year—in human resources or otherwise. For example, there’s no mention of the suspension of Shannon O’Brien—just that “Commissioner Concepcion was appointed Acting Chair by her peers in the absence of the appointed Chair.” There is, however, a lot of data about everything from new licensing to closures and the Social Equity program, plus several pages on the agency’s internal operations.
“Data included in the report are the most recent available as of June 30, 2024, unless stated otherwise.” Some highlights include:
New Regulations
On October 27, 2023, the Commission promulgated historic new adult and medical use of marijuana regulations in accordance with Chapter 180 of the Acts of 2022, An Act Relative to Equity in the Cannabis Industry. These regulations include new requirements relative to the agency’s oversight of HCAs, minimum equity standards for host communities and municipalities, and reforms to the Commission’s suitability standards and review.
Social Equity
As of July 2024, the Commission has issued 28 commence operations approvals to economic empowerment priority applicants and 51 commence operations approvals to [Social Equity Program] participants, enabling them to begin various licensing operations in the Commonwealth. … The Commission remains fully committed to its mission of encouraging and enabling full participation within the marijuana industry from individuals and communities that have previously been disproportionately harmed by marijuana prohibition and enforcement through strategic, intentional, and supportive programming. The Commission has approved licenses owned by SEP Participants and EEAs totaling 137 Provisional Licenses, 5 Final Licenses, and 79 Licenses have commenced operations.
Overall Licensing
As of July 2024, 673 licensees have received notices from the Commission that authorize them to commence business operations in the Commonwealth, another 57 entities currently possess final licenses, and 560 have been approved for provisional licenses. Each year, the licensing team has authorized more businesses to commence operations and approved more final licenses than the previous year.
Closures
Of the 673 adult-use ME licenses the Commission has authorized to commence operations, 37 licenses, or 5.4%, have either surrendered, not renewed their license, or have had their license revoked/voided by the agency and are no longer operating in Massachusetts. Adult-use Marijuana Retailers, which are the most sought-after license type, have seen even fewer closures. Since November 2018, 367 dispensaries have been approved to commence operations and open their doors to adult-use cannabis consumers in Massachusetts. Only nine licensees, or 2.4% have either surrendered or not renewed their license, leaving 358 active and operational Marijuana Retailers in the Commonwealth.
Medical
As of July 1, 2024, the medical-use cannabis industry is comprised of the following: 107 licensees that have commenced full operations to serve registered qualifying patients and caregivers through vertically integrated MTCs, as well as 24 provisional licensees, and 61 expired licenses. As of July 2024, the Medical Use of Marijuana Program is composed of 91,758 Certified Active Patients, 86,617 Active Caregivers and 448 Certifying Healthcare Providers.
Employment
As far as we can tell, the CCC is still skirting the issue of how many people currently work in the industry. Read our recent investigation for more information on that topic.
Enforcement
Since July 2023, Enforcement staff has made approximately eight investigative referrals to Enforcement Counsel, which reviews findings for possible litigation. During this period, Enforcement staff has completed approximately 990 total inspections, including unannounced inspections, license closure inspections, change of location inspections, structural change completion inspections, post-provisional license inspections, post-final license inspections, vehicle and vessel inspections, and audits. From these inspections, Enforcement staff has issued approximately 450 Notices of Deficiencies to licensees.
You can read the full report, which also includes annual updates from the legal, government affairs, and constituent services departments, starting on page 90 of last Thursday’s CCC meeting materials packet here.
“In the coming months, the Commission will continue its work by promulgating new regulations focusing on microbusinesses, delivery operators, and medical patients’ access,” the report reads in the conclusion section. “It will also introduce regulations for social consumption establishments, a new avenue for business growth. The agency looks forward to collaborating with stakeholders at the state and local levels, applicants and licensees, and community members to ensure the licensed Massachusetts cannabis industry remains safe, effective, and equitable.”
