From attempts to raise the license cap to efforts to streamline agent registrations, here’s what legislators are considering
Bay State lawmakers have filed more than a hundred bills related to the cannabis industry in the current session. Of that lot, members of the Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy will hear testimony about nearly 20 different measures on Beacon Hill this Wednesday—from several addressing license limits, to bills covering topics like workplace safety and market saturation.
We will provide coverage of the hearings and, eventually, any changes in the law that stem from legislative action, but in the meantime there are mountains of political gobbledygook to sort through. Keeping in mind that many of the current proposals below are similar to one another, that a few of them attempt to address multiple industry issues (as opposed to just the categories they may be parsed under here), and that some bills, if advanced, will be rewritten and mashed together, here’s a list of the proposals that are in play on Wednesday, including key language that we excerpted …
Bills Regarding Retail And Possession Limits
An Act to modernize the cannabis regulatory environment
- Key language: “… possessing, using, purchasing, processing and/or manufacturing not more than 3 ounces or less of marijuana, except that not more than 15 grams of marijuana may be in the form of marijuana concentrate and not more than 1.5 grams of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) may be contained in a single or multiple edible, beverage or other ingestible products.”
An Act for cannabis market modernization
- Key language: “… provided that the commission shall not prohibit advertising, marketing and branding of sales, discounts, and customer loyalty programs within a Marijuana Establishment, through a Delivery service, on an internet website maintained by a Marijuana Establishment, or through an opt-in email marketing campaign.”
Bills Regarding Market Analysis
An Act to study supply and demand for cannabis cultivation
- Key language: “The Cannabis Control Commission shall conduct or retain an outside expert in economic analysis to conduct and publish a study on supply and demand in the cannabis market, including the legally licensed businesses and the existing black market. The study shall review the current cannabis canopy supply for patients and consumers; project future trends in consumption; provide an in-depth look at the price per pound as a market driver for consumers; and analyze the adequacy of the commission’s regulations on cultivation tiers. The study will offer projections for the appropriate number of licenses to enter the market per year given demand projections.”
Bills Regarding Agent Badging And Worker Safety
An Act to create efficiencies in the cannabis employment process
- Key language: “The commission shall issue a single agent registration card to an individual, which agent registration card shall entitle the holder to provide such services at one or more marijuana establishments or laboratories. An agent registration card shall be valid for six years from the date of issuance.”
An Act for cannabis market modernization
- Key language: “The commission shall issue a single agent registration card to an individual, which agent registration card shall entitle the holder to provide such services at one or more marijuana establishments or laboratories. An agent registration card shall be valid for seven years from the date of issuance.”
- Key language: “The commission shall establish a department of workplace and consumer safety. The department shall be responsible for investigating workplace safety including, but not limited to, air quality and first responder access. The department shall also be tasked with ensuring consumer safety by compiling data related to mold testing and reporting said data to the commission.”
Regarding License Caps, Moratoriums, And Ownership Limits
An Act relative to raising the standalone cap for marijuana establishments
- Key language: “No Person or Entity having Direct or Indirect Control may become a licensee or Person or Entity having Direct or Indirect Control of more than 6 marijuana retailers, 3 medical marijuana treatment center licenses, 3 marijuana product manufacturer licenses and 3 marijuana cultivator licenses.”
An Act protecting cannabis equity businesses by enforcing ownership limits
- Key language: “establish a whistleblower protection program for individuals reporting violations of ownership limits, other anti-competitive practices, workplace safety violations, and other violations of commission regulations by marijuana establishments, marijuana treatment centers, and municipalities.”
An Act relative to economic opportunities in the cannabis industry
- Key language: “No Person or Entity having Direct or Indirect Control may become a licensee or Person or Entity having Direct or Indirect Control of more than 6 marijuana retailers, 3 medical marijuana treatment center licenses, 3 marijuana product manufacturer licenses and 3 marijuana cultivator licenses.”
An Act related to cannabis retail licensees
- Key language: “No Person or Entity having Direct or Indirect Control may become a licensee or Person or Entity having Direct or Indirect Control of more than 6 marijuana retailers, 3 medical marijuana treatment center licenses, 3 marijuana product manufacturer licenses and 3 marijuana cultivator licenses; provided however that until 1-year from the passage of this Act, no Person or Entity having Direct or Indirect Control may become a Person or Entity having Direct or Indirect Control of more than 4 marijuana retailers, and until 2-years from the passage of this Act, no Person or Entity having Direct or Indirect Control may become a Person or Entity having Direct or Indirect Control of more than 5 marijuana retailers.”
An Act establishing a temporary moratorium on the issuance of certain marijuana license types
- Key language: “…the commission shall not issue any marijuana retailer, marijuana cultivator or marijuana product manufacturer licenses to any person or entity unless such person or entity has submitted a marijuana establishment license application that has been deemed complete by the commission prior to the effective date of this section or unless such person is a participant in the social equity or economic empowerment program.”
Bills Regarding Medical Marijuana
An Act to modernize Massachusetts medical marijuana program
- Key language: “and license fees for medical marijuana treatment centers that shall not exceed $1,000 each. A social equity business, as defined in Chapter 94G, shall be exempt from these fees.”
Bills Regarding Social Equity
An Act to create cannabis career pathways to incarcerated individuals
- Key language: “The cannabis control commission, in consultation with the department of corrections, the university of Massachusetts, and the executive office of housing and economic development shall, shall (i) conduct a study on programs and partnerships to encourage the employment of formerly incarcerated individuals in the cannabis industry, including trainings and educational programs conducted within houses of correction, jails, prisons.”
An Act to promote equity joint venture partnerships
- Key language: “… any licensee or any person or entity having direct or indirect control may become a person or entity having direct or indirect control of up to 4 additional marijuana retailer licenses or medical marijuana treatment center licenses if (i) such marijuana retailer licenses are majority owned by a social equity business, economic empowerment business, a Massachusetts Minority Business Enterprises (MBE), Women Business Enterprises (WBE), or Veteran Business Enterprises (VBE) with valid certification from the Supplier Diversity Office of the Massachusetts Operational Services Division as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE).”
An Act to create Cannabis career pathways for justice-involved individuals
- Key language: “The cannabis control commission, in consultation with the cannabis advisory board, the cannabis social equity advisory board, the department of correction, the Massachusetts sheriffs association, the office of probation, the university of Massachusetts, the executive office of economic development, and the executive office of labor and workforce development shall: (i) conduct a study on programs and partnerships to encourage the employment of justice-involved individuals in the cannabis industry.”
Bills Regarding CCC Oversight
An Act establishing an internal special audit unit within the Cannabis Control Commission
- Key language: “There shall be within the commission, but not subject to the control of the commission, an internal special audit unit. The inspector general shall appoint a director of the special audit unit, who shall serve as an assistant inspector general, under the supervision of the inspector general, for a term of 4 years. The inspector general may remove the director for cause and designate an interim director until a new director is appointed.”
