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Massachusetts Governor Signs Bill Doubling Legal Marijuana Possession Limit And Revising Industry Rules

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4 weeks ago

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The governor of Massachusetts has signed a bill double the legal limit for adult marijuana possession and revise the regulatory framework for the state’s adult cannabis market.

Gov. Maura Healey (D) approved the legislation Sunday, about a week and a half after lawmakers sent it to her desk in unanimous House and Senate votes.

“The cannabis industry is an important part of the Massachusetts economy: it supports jobs and local businesses and generates revenue for cities and towns,” Healey said in a press release. “It is important that we are doing everything we can to ensure that this industry is set up to succeed and remain competitive in this growing market. I am grateful to the Legislature for their leadership on this critical reform project.”

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.

“With the governor’s signature today, our legislature takes an important step toward making the cannabis industry here in Massachusetts more profitable, profitable and competitive for business owners and consumers,” said Sen. Adam Gómez (D), who chaired the bicameral panel. “This legislation strengthens the Cannabis Regulatory Commission’s oversight by making smart updates that help small businesses, improve accountability, and ensure consumers can safely and legally access cannabis.”

“By clarifying shipping and advertising rules, increasing accounts receivable transparency, increasing purchase amounts and modernizing licensing limits, we’re building a more stable and fairer cannabis market for our state and I’m proud of our body for prioritizing reform this session,” he said.

Rep. Daniel M. Donahue (D), who also chaired the conference committee and co-chairs the Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy with Gómez, said he is “delighted” that the legislation became law.

“These reforms represent a new commitment to ensuring a safe, equitable and prosperous future for the Commonwealth’s legalized cannabis industry,” he said. “I look forward to working with the administration through their implementation.”

Among the revisions to the state’s cannabis law is a section that increases 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 reduces the size of the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) and overhauls the organization, while also updating the limits on marijuana business licenses.

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According to the versions of both chambers invoiceThe CCC would consist of three members instead of the current five. Conference committee the report it takes provisions of the House measure that has now become law that would allow the governor to make all appointments, with the Senate approach giving the attorney general one of the appointments. According to the previous law, the treasurer also had a role in appointing committee members, but this will no longer be the case.

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 new law also increases the number of licenses a single entity can hold from three to six, and also raises 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.

Before the governor signed the bill, the CCC published guidance on the immediate effect of the new law.

After signing the bill on Sunday, CCC Executive Director Travis Ahern he said “During this transition, the organization will remain focused on its primary mission of regulating a safe and fair cannabis industry for Massachusetts consumers, patients, employers and taxpayers.”

Cannabis regulation reform has come into effect after state marijuana businesses filed a lawsuit aimed at blocking 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 reviewing 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.

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Third cannabis business approved by Jefferson Town Council

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14 hours ago

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May 15, 2026

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The Jefferson City Council unanimously approved “Green Leevs” as the city’s first cannabis micro-farm at its May 6 meeting. This is the third cannabis business approved by the municipality in order to bring income to the municipality. Retail dispensaries “Greenlight Apothecary” and “Gas and Grass” were previously approved.

Green Leevs are owned by Bill Comeford, Elliot McClendon and Josh Moskowitz. All three are from the local area, Comeford grew up in Jefferson. In New Jersey, a micro-enterprise is a facility with 2,500 square feet of growing space. A micro-farm relies on the craftsmanship of cannabis rather than mass production.

“We have more control, we have more hands, the smaller grow rooms make it easier to inspect each plant,” Comeford said. “If you’re careful, it makes for a better product at the end of the day.”

Green Leeves understands that there are mixed feelings about the Council’s approval of the cannabis industry and hopes that this will ease over time.

Read more at Press Jefferson










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Virginia Governor Signs Marijuana Resentencing Bill After Lawmakers Rejected Her Amendments

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15 hours ago

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May 15, 2026

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Virginia’s governor has signed legislation to grant sentence relief to people with past marijuana convictions, even as lawmakers have refused to accept proposed amendments to the legislation that would significantly narrow the scope of reform.

Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) gave final approval to the bills, Rozia Henson Jr.’s HB 26 (D) and Senate President Pro Tem Louise Lucas’ SB 62 (D), on Thursday.

Separately, lawmakers and advocates are waiting the governor’s action on separate legislation to legalize the sale of recreational marijuana after amendments to his proposal were similarly rejected by the House and Senate last month. The changes suggested in that legislation included delaying the start of sales by six months, increasing taxes and introducing new criminal penalties for cannabis users.

Retrial reform, on the other hand, creates a process by which people incarcerated or on community custody for certain crimes involving the possession, manufacture, sale or distribution of marijuana will consider changing their sentences to receive an automatic trial.

Spanberger sent proposed amendments to lawmakers last month They had to proactively submit requests for assistance to affected people instead of the courts proceeding automatically. The Senate and House of Representatives, however, rejected the proposal, effectively rejecting it and sending the original legislation to Spanberger’s desk.

Henson, the sponsor of the House version of the bill, said it was ready to accept the governor’s changes, even if he is concerned this would mean that some people with cannabis convictions would fall through the cracks because they “didn’t have a lawyer or didn’t know how to ask.”

The whole parliament did not agree with the change, however, and now HB 26 and SB 62 The laws that were originally approved have been implemented.

The relief will apply to people with convictions or convictions for conduct that occurred before July 1, 2021, when a state law that legalized personal possession and home cultivation of marijuana went into effect. State and local corrections officials should identify and notify eligible individuals of their rights to provide notice of relief and then work with courts to automatically schedule hearings.

Henson said last month that the resentencing legislation was “built for people who are still paying the price for something that Virginia has made legal.”

“If the commonwealth were to change the law, it still has the duty to review the consequences of the people punished according to the old one,” he said.

The governor’s office said in a press release when he proposed his amendments that they “clarify that there will be no tolerance for violent crimes in Virginia, from armed robbery to possession of firearms to distribute fentanyl, heroin and other dangerous drugs.”

But Henson said he shares the “governor’s commitment” to making sure violent offenders are not eligible for this relief; and that commitment is reflected in the bill itself, which excluded people convicted of violent acts under Virginia law.

Spanberger’s release last month made no mention of the actual major changes to the bill, which was the removal of automatic leniency provisions for people with cannabis convictions.

The governor’s amendment also proposed removing the deadline for court filings on the retrial.

In the previous session, members of parliament approved similar legislation, but the then government vetoed it. Glenn Young (R).

Separately, Spanberger signed several other reform bills last month, including measures protecting the parental rights of marijuana users and giving patients access to medical cannabis in hospitals.

Cannabis policy reform organizations, on the other hand, sent a letter earlier this month asking the governor to enact the adult-use marijuana sales bill.

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Cannabis operators report mixed results as rescheduling reshapes the financial outlook

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2 days ago

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May 14, 2026

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The rescheduling came mid-quarter and rewrote the tax math for each medical sales operator, but the underlying revenue picture remained uneven in early 2026, with acquisitions driven at one end of the scale and continued top-line compression at the other.

Vireo Growth: Back on $106 million deal
Vireo Growth Inc. reported Q1 GAAP revenue of $106.2 million, up 333.5% year-over-year, driven almost entirely by recent acquisitions rather than organic growth. The company completed the Schwazze acquisition in March, adding 45 dispensaries and two manufacturing facilities in Colorado and New Mexico. At the end of the quarter, it closed Eaze and Hawthorne Gardening, FLUENT Corp. announced an acquisition agreement and executed a California dispensary joint venture with Glass House Brands. Treating all acquisitions as closed on January 1, 2025 on a pro forma basis, revenue was $210.2 million and adjusted EBITDA was $42.2 million. The company ended the quarter with $137.8 million in cash.

John Mazarakis, CEO of Vireo, said: “Performance in the first quarter met our expectations and we are excited to welcome Schwazze, Eaze and Hawthorne to Vireo. We are focused on integration and optimization across the platform, while remaining opportunistic regarding growth opportunities associated with further acquisitions.”

Cresco Labs: $151 million, 280E relief and Texas license
Cresco Labs reported Q1 revenue of $151 million, down from $165.8 million in Q1 2025. Adjusted gross margin was 50.7% and adjusted EBITDA margin of $33 million was 21.7%. Cash at the end of the quarter was $67 million against a $310 million secured term loan. The company was conditionally granted a Texas Compassionate Use Program license after the quarter ended and opened two new dispensaries in Ohio.

Management said, “Moving the state’s legal medical cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III is the most impactful reform this industry has seen, and it validates the work we’ve been executing for years. We’ve built the operational foundation and balance sheet discipline to reap the immediate benefits of rescheduling, and position Cresco to take advantage of the broader path to normalization.”

Jushi Holdings: 4% growth, 460 basis point margin expansion
Jushi Holdings reported first-quarter revenue of $66.4 million, up 4% year-over-year, with gross profit margin up 460 basis points to 45%. Adjusted EBITDA was $11.4 million, up 17.2%. The margin improvement was driven by higher production volumes in Ohio, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania and the performance of grower processors. Jushi brand products accounted for 58% of retail revenue in vertical markets. The company refinanced $132.3 million in debt during the quarter, providing $160 million in new debt through 2029.

Jim Cacioppo, president and CEO, said: “The recent scheduling of state-licensed medical marijuana for Schedule III is an important milestone for the industry, eliminating 280E tax limitations for medical operations and supporting a more favorable long-term operating environment.” Medical sales accounted for about 60% of Jushi’s 2025 revenue, making this material relief.

iAnthus Capital: Revenue falls to $33.5 million
iAnthus Capital reported first-quarter revenue of $33.5 million, down $4.6 million from 2025’s first quarter. Gross margin was 47.5%, up 477 basis points from the 2025 quarter. The company did not provide a management comment in the press release.

Country farms: international export record, fourth consecutive quarter of net income
Village Farms International reported first quarter consolidated net sales of $50.2 million, up 27% year-over-year, with net income of $2.9 million and adjusted EBITDA of $9.9 million, up 118% year-over-year. International export sales increased 171% to a record $14.6 million, driven by demand for EU-GMP compliant products in Germany. Pure Sunfarms had the top Canadian market share in dried flowers for the 15th consecutive month. The company started planting the first half of its Delta 2 greenhouse expansion and expects its Phase II facility in the Netherlands to reach full capacity by the end of 2026, which would quadruple Dutch production.

Michael DeGiglio, President and CEO, said: “Our first quarter results reflect a strong start to the year and continued momentum in our largest markets, with adjusted EBITDA growth of 118% year-over-year, significantly outpacing revenue growth of 27%, driven by our international business and continued leadership in Canada.

Cronos Group: Record revenue, $822 million in cash
Cronos Group reported Q1 net income of $45.2 million, up 40% year-over-year and a record quarter, with net income of $15.7 million and adjusted EBITDA of $5.1 million. Israel led growth PEACE NATURALS grew 53% for ninth consecutive record quarter. In Canada, the Spinach brand took first place in vapes with a 9.8% share of the national market, and maintained its top spot in edibles at 20.8%. The company ended the quarter with $821.9 million in cash and authorized a new $50 million stock repurchase program. The deadline to close the acquisition of CanAdelaar, one of the ten licensed growers in the Dutch Controlled Cannabis Supply Chain Experiment, has been extended to September 9, 2026 to allow time for regulatory approvals.

Mike Gorenstein, chairman, president and CEO, said, “Cronos achieved net earnings and gross profit in the first quarter as we continue to execute against our unlimited product strategy and the additional supply from Cronos GrowCo’s expansion fuels the next phase of our growth.”

Org chart: Revenue down 9%, Sanity Group acquisition closes after quarter
Organigram Global reported fiscal second quarter net income of $59.8 million, down 9% year-over-year, with adjusted EBITDA of $0.9 million, down 82%. Lower vape and pre-infusion sales drove the decline, along with a $5.8 billion dent in the U.S. hemp business. The company achieved a record quarterly harvest of over 32,000kg at its Moncton facility, up 56% year-on-year, and launched 10 SKUs in Australia targeting over 4,000 pharmacies. At the end of the quarter, Organigram acquired Sanity Group, one of Germany’s leading cannabis companies, and updated its 2026 guidance to net revenue of more than $350 million.

James Yamanaka, CEO, said: “Q2 reflected our poor performance in vaporizers and temporary challenges in pre-infusion production, compounded by slower industry growth. We have acted quickly to address these issues, and the operational changes and product improvements we have implemented are already beginning to stabilize performance.”

Greg Guyatt, Chief Financial Officer, said: “The financial impact of the competitive and operational challenges encountered earlier in fiscal 2026 is believed to have materialized in the first half of the year, and we are now beginning to stabilize performance. We expect to resume a trajectory of margin expansion and improved profitability during the second half of the year, supported by positive revenue and international sales growth. The Sanity Group.”

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