Cannabis News
Massachusetts Bill To Double Marijuana Possession Limit And Revise Regulatory Framework Heads To Conference Committee
Massachusetts lawmakers have convened a bicameral conference committee to hammer out a deal bill that would double the legal limit for possession of marijuana for adults and reviewing the regulatory framework for the state’s adult cannabis market.
After the Senate passed an amended version of the legislation in November, the House pushed back against the changes. Now appointed lawmakers will meet to iron out differences between the chambers’ approaches and potentially send the House bill to the governor’s desk.
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.
Sen. Adam Gómez (D), said before the Senate vote that the increased ownership limit and other changes proposed in the bill would “modernize” the state’s cannabis laws.
Gómez and Rep. Daniel Donahue (D), chairman of the Joint Cannabis Policy Committee, will serve as lead negotiators for the newly formed conference committee to act on the marijuana bill.
Other congressmen include Sens. Joanne Comerford (D) and Peter Durant (R), as well as Reps. Carlos Gonzalez (D) and Michael Soter (R).
“When Massachusetts voters approved adult cannabis use, we made a commitment not just to legalize it, but to build a safe, fair and well-regulated industry,” Gómez said in November. “Seven years later, we have made great progress, but the landscape has changed and our laws must reflect what it is.”
In addition to expanding ownership, which is included in both chambers’ versions, the bill would reduce the size and revise the organization of the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC), updating the limits on marijuana business licenses.
In both versions, the CCC would consist of three members instead of the current five. The Senate bill would appoint two directly by the governor and one by the attorney general. The House proposed that the governor make all appointments. In both cases, the state treasurer would not be responsible for appointing committee members.
The Senate-passed legislation includes a reciprocity section that allows out-of-state medical marijuana patients to purchase cannabis products from Massachusetts dispensaries.
Gómez said the version of invoice The one passed by the Senate would “remove outdated requirements that force medical operations to vertically integrate.”
He argued that the state is “reinforcing” its commitment to a fair cannabis industry by, among other things, “supporting worker ownership models and guiding the commission to develop fair and transparent host community agreements.”
The Senate-passed legislation also directs the CCC to study the mental health impacts and long-term outcomes of marijuana use.
“This legislation is not about starting over. It is about building on what we have learned,” said Gómez. “It’s about making sure our laws keep pace with a growing industry while protecting consumers, helping small businesses and advancing equity.”
Senators approved several changes to the House bill in November, including requiring the CCC to conduct studies on marijuana demand and supply, excise tax rates and regulation of hemp-derived cannabinoids.
Other approved amendments direct regulators to update cannabis testing protocols annually and clarify “advertising, marketing and branding of sales, discounts and customer loyalty programs at a marijuana establishment or through an opt-in email list.”
After the Senate passed the revised bill, the House opposed the changes, bringing in conference committee appointments.
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 similar job protection bill by Rep. Michael Kushmer (D). in September
Against the backdrop of that legislative effort, Massachusetts officials recently announced a campaign behind it An initiative to roll back the state’s marijuana legalization law has collected enough valid signatures to send the measure to members of parliament, before it goes to the voters to decide this year’s vote.
The campaign already had it He expressed confidence that he has obtained enough signatures to move forward. Members of Parliament will receive the proposal on January 7 at the beginning of the 2026 session, and they have until May 5 to act on it. If the Legislature decides not to pass it, 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.
Controversy has arisen over the prohibitionist coalition’s signature-gathering tactics, with petitioners working on behalf of the campaign allegedly sharing misleading information about what the measure would accomplish, paid petitioners using fake letters for other ballot measures on issues such as affordable housing and same-day voter registration.
The The state attorney general has confirmed that he has received complaints for that And in November, a state association of marijuana companies asked voters to report it to local officials if they observe it Instances of “spoof mail” or other fraudulent solicitation tactics. The campaign has denied the allegations.
The office of Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell (D), that is He cleared the signature collection campaign in September—stressed to voters the importance of reading their summary, which should go at the top of the signature form, before signing any petition.
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.
Whether the cannabis measures make the cut remains to be seen. Voters approved legalization on the 2016 ballot, and sales began two years later. And in the last decade the market has evolved and expanded. In August, Massachusetts officials reported more than $8 billion in adult marijuana sales.
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Meanwhile, last month, state regulators established rules for social marijuana consumption halls.
Separately, the State Cannabis Control Commission (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.
State legislators have also been pondering imposing stricter restrictions on intoxicating hemp-derived products and a plan allowing individual entities to control a greater number of cannabis establishments.
Also in Massachusetts Legislators working on state budgets butted heads with CCC officialswho said critical technology improvements can’t be made without more money from the legislature.
Massachusetts lawmakers also passed a bill establishing a pilot program for the regulated therapeutic use of psychedelics. And two committees Hearings to discuss additional measures related to psilocybin were held separately.
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Curing is one of those phases of cannabis production that almost everyone agrees is important, but that importance hardly translates into cannabis facilities. It’s understandable that growers want to maximize their canopy space first and foremost. After all, more flowers, more income. However, the irony is that by the time a plant reaches the curing room, most of the money has already been spent. The genetics are locked in, the lights have done their job, the rooms have been marked, the harvest has been carefully handled. And yet, quality is often validated or left behind.
Simon Knobel of Calyx Containers has spent an amazing amount of time thinking about this disintegration. The company started about 9 years ago, when Simon and his co-founder Alex were still in school and adult cannabis was becoming legal in Massachusetts. “Back then, cannabis packaging meant pill bottles, borrowed wholesale from the pharmaceutical world and reused without much thought,” explains Simon. “Our initial instinct wasn’t to do something revolutionary. It was just to build something that made sense for cannabis.”
As the company developed a range of packaging formats, the focus was on quality at the point of sale. “Scent retention, ease of use, shelf life, that was the pace of our design process. What took longer to fully register was that the degradation didn’t just happen after packaging. In many cases, it was already baked in during curing.”
Simon and Calyx did extensive market research to understand what was happening with quality degradation. “It’s good to talk not only with operators, but with consumers.” A story stuck. Simon recalls interviewing a client who was on a ski trip with his family and trying to hide the fact that he had cannabis with him. This awkwardness of smell, discretion and manipulation became a design problem. The sliding cover, integrated gasket, meant the elimination of the twisting motion that gave some users a literal pain in the wrist. But it also opened up a deeper line of research.
As Calyx began to talk more seriously with growers, a recurring question came up. Where exactly does quality start to slip? To answer this, the company partnered with the Cannabis Research Coalition and worked with Dr. Allison Justice on research based on the cure. “What we found was that it wasn’t particularly comfortable for anyone relying on legacy methods,” says Simon. “One of the biggest drivers of terpene preservation was the stability of water activity. When water activity drops below 0.55 aW, the stomata begin to collapse, then shrink, then break. At that point, the mono-terpenes escape.”
These mono-terpenes are responsible for most of the aromas associated with quality cannabis. “They are also volatile in nature. Once they’re gone, they’re gone,” highlighted Simon.
© Calyx Vessels
Basic methods and alternatives
Traditional healing methods are based on burping. Opening containers, exchanging air, manually regulating humidity. “This methodology works, but it also introduces oxygen. In addition, the plant material is also subject to mechanical stress. Both oxygen and mechanical stress accelerate degradation, thus hampering quality.”
Calyx Cure was designed as an alternative to that ritual. “Instead of active intervention, Calyx Cure uses a passive atmospheric film with selective permeation properties. The layers are designed to allow specific gases to move through the material while others are restricted. Biological curing processes continue, but without opening the container, without introducing excess oxygen and without handling the flower.”
In controlled studies, Calyx saw a 33% improvement in monoterpene profile preservation compared to traditional approaches such as turkey pouches. “Practically speaking, that first hit of aroma you get when you open a jar, driven largely by monoterpenes, is intact.”
Complicating the picture is that curing is not reversible. There is a persistent belief that if cannabis dries out too much, there are no moisture packs or other interventions that can bring it back. “Excessive drying slows down the enzymatic reactions, alters the aging process and permanently changes the composition of the terpenes. Once the quality is lost at that stage, the bottle cannot revive it,” he said.
© Calyx Vessels
Curing and speed to market
Therefore, post-harvest processes cannot be the last element of cannabis facility design. “Sometimes speed or short-term cost savings drive the decision. Cure less, move product faster and assume the container will handle the rest.” Market dynamics don’t help either. When a new market opens and the shelves are empty, speed is rewarded and cutting corners can be the difference between hitting dispensaries later.
Calyx approaches it as a manufacturing and engineering problem rather than a branding exercise. Unlike much of the packaging industry, which operates largely as a middleman, Calyx operates its own factory in Utah. “That vertical integration allows us to iterate quickly. New designs can be prototyped in 1 or 2 weeks.”
This can be a huge plus, as quality control is a hot topic in the wider world of agriculture, not just cannabis. The industry often talks about wanting nutraceutical or food standards. These industries have already solved the complexity of the supply chain. They know how to produce in one region and deliver consistently to another. Cannabis, especially if it wants to move globally, will need similar discipline.”
And as with food packaging, sustainability is part of that equation in cannabis. Calyx has extensively studied compostable and hemp-based structures. “Compostable materials struggle with terpene conservation and water activity control. If the package breathes too much, the plant pays the price.”
Instead, Calyx’s approach to sustainability is based on reducing the use of materials at the manufacturing level. “The cover molded joint is a good example,” explains Simon. “Traditional seals require cutting circular inserts from large sheets, creating huge waste. We’ve designed molds where a small amount of polymer forms the cover and joint in one plane, creating almost zero waste and a fully recyclable component.”
Healing, it seems, is not passive waiting. “It’s an active and fragile process,” says Simon. “And like most fragile things in cannabis, it benefits from being engineered rather than inherited.”
For more information:
Calyx vessels
1991 W Parkway Blvd. West Valley City, UT, 84119-2026
724-303-7481
(email protected)
calyxcontainers.com
Cannabis News
Michigan Lawmakers Weigh Bill To Create Statewide Cannabis Reference Lab To Standardize Testing
Cannabis News
Vivent Biosignals & Green Laniel join forces to bring plant-driven agriculture to the US
Vivent Biosignals and Green Laniel Consulting have announced a partnership to accelerate plant-driven irrigation and irrigation in key U.S. agricultural markets. Green Laniel Consulting is a US-focused provider of agronomic solutions led by Mauricio Manotas.
By combining Vivent’s ability to decode plant biosignals in real-time using plant biosensors, machine learning and AI with Green Laniel’s deep experience in agronomy, grower operations and US market access, the partnership allows growers to make decisions based on what really matters: how the plant itself is responding.
© Vivent Biosignals
The partnership will cover a variety of crops and production systems, initially plant-driven irrigation and greenhouses for perennial crops, including potatoes, directly guided by plant feedback.
“By combining Vivint’s plant-level intelligence with Green Laniel’s strong presence and agronomic leadership in the US, we are enabling a new generation of plant-driven farming systems. This partnership helps growers improve yields and quality while significantly increasing resource efficiency and sustainability.” says Mauricio Manotas, Green Laniel Consulting.
For more information:
Vivent Biosignals
Tel.: +41 79 5114627
Email: (email protected)
https://vivent-biosignals.com/
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