$265 million in tax revenue, 1,400 inspections, and serious budget shortfalls
Another year, another Cannabis Control Commission annual report, this one covering Fiscal Year 2025, spanning June 2024 to June 2025. It’s tedious and cumbersome and we suggest you take a deep dive for yourself, but in the meantime we broke out what seemed like some of the most critical numbers and details, broken down below …
FY25 By the Numbers
- Gross Cannabis Sales: Surpassed $8 Billion to date.
- Revenue Collected in FY2025: $265 Million in sales/excise tax and $20 Million in non-tax revenue.
- Registered Agents: 14,524 unique registered agents.
- Inspections/Agreements: 1,404 On-Site Inspections and 814 Compliant Host Community Agreements.
- The FY2026 appropriation was $19.7 million, a reduction from the prior year and less than the requested $30 million.
General Commission Stuff
- The Commission finalized and adopted its first formal governance charter.
- Travis Ahern was hired as the new Executive Director in March 2025.
- The agency is operating with three of the five statutory Commissioners following the resignation of Commissioner Nurys Camargo.
- Progress is constrained by flat or reduced budget appropriations, limiting investment in necessary IT updates.
- The employee base is 53% female and 24% persons of color.
CCC Budget
- Limitations constrain critical investments, including a Standards Laboratory, a public awareness campaign for social consumption, and IT infrastructure upgrades.
- A hiring freeze was implemented due to FY2026 budget shortfalls.
Ongoing Regulatory Work
- Social Consumption: Draft regulations for three new Social Consumption Establishment licenses were approved in July 2025 for formal promulgation.
- Delivery Exclusivity: The exclusivity period for delivery licenses (reserved for equity participants) was extended for an additional 12 months to April 2026.
- Medical Access: A working group was established to review and modernize the Medical Use of Marijuana Program regulations, specifically to address the vertical integration requirement.
- Chapter 180: Significant progress was made in implementing the equity-focused reforms from Chapter 180 of the Acts of 2022, including publishing a Model Host Community Agreement (HCA).
Agents and Licensing
- As of July 2025, there are 14,524 unique individuals registered as Marijuana Establishment agents.
- The Commission is considering amending the agent badging process to address concerns about the multiple badges required for collocated establishments.
- 754 licensees have been authorized to commence business operations as of July 2025.
- The delivery exclusivity period for Social Equity Program (SEP) participants was extended to April 2026.
Enforcement
- The Investigations and Enforcement (I&E) Task Force was established to investigate complaints related to Independent Testing Lab (ITL) compliance.
- The Task Force’s work led to the suspension of an ITL’s license and two public health and safety advisories.
Equity Programming and Community Outreach (EPCO)
- The department redeveloped and delivered 77 updated training courses for SEP participants.
- Launched the EquityWorks Career Hub, a platform designed to foster inclusive economic participation and networking for disproportionately impacted communities.
Constituent Services and Communications
- The department responded to over 30,000 phone calls and approximately 8,000 emails in FY2025.
- The Commission’s website received over 2.5 million page views.
- New web enhancements include a fully automated Licensing Tracker and a combined search solution.
- The public education line item in the budget has not been funded since FY2020, limiting the scale of public awareness campaigns.
Research
- The Commission produced several research products, including a review and assessment of the Massachusetts adult and medical use cannabis industries.
- The agency is working to secure appropriations for collaborative grants to support critical cannabis research.
