Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives have unanimously approved a bill double the legal limit for possession of marijuana for adults and revise the regulatory framework For the state’s adult cannabis market.
The House of Representatives approved the legislation in a 155-0 vote on Wednesday. If the Senate goes ahead, expected this week, the proposal would go to the desk of Gov. Maura Healey (D), who could sign it or veto it, making it law without her signature or proposing amendments for lawmakers to consider.
A bicameral conference committee spent months working on provisions of the legislation after the two chambers passed different versions last year, and the committee approved the compromise approach on Monday.
“The conference committee’s report lays out an excellent road map for the future structure of cannabis regulation in the commonwealth,” said Rep. Daniel M. Donahue (D), who chaired the bicameral panel, before the vote on the House floor.
Changes to the state’s cannabis regulatory structure will “create better accountability, better transparency and greater efficiencies in the oversight of our cannabis industry,” he said. “We also worked on some massive regulatory changes for the industry. I think some of these regulatory changes have been a long time coming, and that’s why we should be proud that we’re doing it to help our businesses.”
Donahue and Sen. Adam Gómez (D), who chaired the conference committee, said in a joint statement earlier this week that the agreement “charts a more hopeful path forward for the regulation of cannabis in our commonwealth.”
“The bill creates new opportunities for small businesses to grow, while providing temporary and exclusive access to those opportunities for those historically harmed by marijuana laws,” said the lawmakers, who also serve as chairs of the House Joint Cannabis Policy Committee. “This bill will allow them to realize their capital and achieve innovative models such as employee businesses.”
Among the revisions to the state’s cannabis law is a section that would increase the personal possession limit of marijuana from one ounce to two. Colorado enacted the same reform in 2021 after the state’s cannabis market matured.
H.5350 would reduce the size and reorganize the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC), while also updating the limits on marijuana business licenses.
According to the versions of both chambers invoiceThe CCC would consist of three members instead of the current five. Conference committee the report It adopts provisions of the House measure that would allow the governor to make all the appointments, with the Senate approach giving the attorney general one of the appointments. Under current legislation, the treasurer also has a role in appointing committee members, but this will not be the case if the legislation comes into force.
The proposal calls for one member of the CCC to have a background in social justice, while the other two commissioners have a background in public health, public safety, social justice, consumer regulation or the production and distribution of cannabis.
The bill will also increase the number of licenses a single entity can hold from three to six, and also raise from 10 percent to 20 percent the threshold for how much of a company’s equity is considered property to count toward the license cap. It also removes a current requirement that medical cannabis operators be vertically integrated to simultaneously cultivate, manufacture and sell marijuana.
It also empowers regulators to choose dispensaries to advertise sales, discounts and customer loyalty programs at retail locations and via email, and specifies that marijuana dispensary operators can deliver to any municipality unless local officials proactively ban cannabis businesses and stop delivery.
The measure creates a new portal for reporting illegal behavior and directs regulators to create a list of cannabis companies that have not paid their debts to other operators for more than 60 days and prevents regulators from doing business with other operators until the debts are settled.
The legislation also requires regulators to study and report on hemp-derived products, the public health impacts of cannabis, tax policy and workplace safety regulations.
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The passage of the cannabis regulation bill comes as the state’s marijuana businesses file a lawsuit to block it. initiative to roll back the legalization law approved by state voters from reaching the November vote.
If approved, the state would not return to general prohibition; rather, it would repeal the commercial recreational sales and home cultivation components of the law, while allowing adults 21 and older to possess one ounce of cannabis for personal use.
Possession of more than one ounce but less than two ounces would effectively be decriminalized, with violators facing a $100 fine. Adults can also continue to gift cannabis to each other without payment. The sale of medical marijuana would be legal.
The measure is before the legislature after supporters provided an initial round of signatures last year, and lawmakers have until May 5 to act on the proposal. If they decide not to pass it in the legislature, the campaign would have to go through another round of petitions and get at least 12,429 certified signatures by July 1 to get on the November ballot.
The promoters faced skeptical questions from lawmakers at a hearing of the Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions last month, with several. raising concerns about the motivations behind the anti-marijuana measure and the consequences for consumers and companies.
A Bay State Poll by the University of Hampshire State Opinion Project found that A majority of Massachusetts adults oppose the initiative to repeal the sale and cultivation of marijuana.
Meanwhile, in November, the legislature’s Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy advanced a bill that would have required a study. legal barriers facing first responders who want to use marijuana in compliance with state law.
Regulators should also examine marijuana’s effectiveness in the treatment of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In addition, police and first responders in other jurisdictions will review laws and policies regarding the use of cannabis and “any other matter deemed relevant by the commission.”
The bill was reported when lawmakers in another committee passed separate legislation employment protection for people who use marijuana. Another panel advanced a a bill similar to the employment protections for cannabis in September
Meanwhile, the head of Massachusetts’ marijuana regulatory agency recently suggested measures to effectively recriminalize the sale of recreational cannabis. dangerous tax revenues being used to support substance abuse treatment efforts and other public programs.
To that point, Massachusetts recently achieved another marijuana milestone, officials announced in February that the state has. Over $9 billion in adult cannabis purchases since market launch in 2018.
A report by the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) found that legalization is achieving one of its main goals: stopping the illegal sale of cannabis as adults move into the regulated market. It shows that among adults who used marijuana in the past year, a staggering 84 percent said they got their cannabis from a licensed source.
Massachusetts lawmakers recently joined a bicameral conference committee to hammer out a deal. double the legal limit for possession of marijuana for adults and review the regulatory framework for the state’s adult cannabis market.
In December, state regulators, too established rules for the halls of social consumption of marijuana.
CCC has recently launched a targeted online platform helping people find work, on-the-job training and networking opportunities in the state’s legal cannabis industry.
Separately, members of parliament are advancing the legislation establishing pilot programs for the regulated therapeutic use of psychedelics.