Here’s the process to petition the Cannabis Control Commission
First of all, if you clicked on this brief because you think it is easy to change the way people do business in the Massachusetts marijuana industry, you should deflate those expectations right away. Adjustments aren’t totally impossible to pull off, but they do take time, determination, and a worthy (legally feasible) cause.
Realistically, if you think there’s something that the Cannabis Control Commission needs to address, you should first contact stakeholders who have previously gone to the mat. Like delivery operators, for example, who spent years tweaking the costly so-called “two-driver rule” which required these companies to put two people in the car for every drop.
Fortunately, though, there is an actual process to spur change. At their last meeting, CCC members and supporting staffers laid out the protocol, and even showed how such suggestions have panned out in the past. Here’s how it goes:
- Anybody, from a member of the general public to a license holder, can email the CCC at Petitions@cccmass.com.
- From there, general counsel “or their delegee acknowledges receipt and conducts a review to determine if the Petition conforms to the requirements” of Massachusetts law.
- Then, “general counsel or their delegee informs [the] petitioner if their submission does not conform to the regulatory requirements and works with the petitioner to conform the Petition to the requirements of the regulations.”
- After which “general counsel or their delegee conducts the initial legal analysis in order to make a recommendation to the Executive Director.” Those recommendations could be:
- No regulatory change is needed;
- Determination that there is a need for additional investigation or information (e.g., formation of a working group);
- Determination that regulatory change is warranted and a recommendation should be presented to the Commission; or
- Take any other action consistent with the regulations
- Finally, “upon receipt of feedback and direction from the Executive Director, general counsel takes appropriate action including working with Department Heads to implement the recommendation and to respond further to the petitioner, which could include, but not be limited to, the presentation of materials to the Commissioners for their consideration.”
Below you can see how petitioners have fared to date …
