The Cannabis Commission plans to have the groups focus on outreach and provider training

Colin A Young

As they prepare to roll out their latest attempt to create a framework allowing people to consume marijuana in public social settings later this week, regulators at the Cannabis Control Commission said Monday they are confident there will be one There will be legislation for 2022, and the conversations they have had with companies, other regulators, municipalities and law enforcement will position them to be successful.

The 2016 election law that legalized non-medical marijuana considered establishments where people could consume marijuana on social media. The CCC planned to include social consumption sites in its initial legal industry launch in 2018, before giving in to pressure from Beacon Hill to focus on the retail rollout first.

The CCC last year scrapped a 2019 regulatory framework that envisioned introducing cannabis cafes and other social consumption sites with a 12-community pilot program, and a working group has since been trying to develop a new approach. That group plans to present its proposal to the CCC and the public at its meeting on Thursday.

Marijuana plants grow at a facility in Massachusetts.

“We told people that social consumption is happening now. I mean, people host private events – you bring your own. We obviously feel this is a great opportunity for more successful business opportunities for our social equity candidates.” “Our economic empowerment participants, micro-enterprises and our artisanal marijuana cooperatives,” acting CCC Chairman Bruce Stebbins said Monday .

The basic idea of on-site social consumption is to allow adults to purchase a marijuana product and consume it in the same location, similar to purchasing alcohol at a bar or a cigar at a cigar bar. Allowing on-site consumption would give tourists staying in hotels and renters who are banned from smoking in their apartments legal places to consume marijuana. Officials also said the sites could also provide parents with a place to smoke or consume marijuana without ever exposing it to their children.

The new framework provides for three types of social consumption licenses: a “supplemental” license for existing marijuana establishments, such as retail stores and grow operations, that want to offer their customers the opportunity to consume products purchased on-site, and a “hospitality” license category. , which would allow on-site consumption at new or existing non-cannabis businesses such as yoga studios or theaters, as well as an “event organizer” licensing category that would allow temporary on-site consumption at events such as would enable rallies and festivals. The rules maintain the requirement that establishments have a transportation plan in place in the event consumers cannot safely travel home, as well as rules on worker protection.

For the first five years, the licenses are only available to applicants who qualify for the CCC’s social equity or economic development programs, microbusinesses and artisanal marijuana cooperatives.

Commissioner Nurys Camargo provided examples of what the license types would enable. She said the additional license would open the door for cannabis cultivators to have a “tasting room” in their facility and give retailers the opportunity to get creative with how they use additional space in their stores to either offer a consumption point or host events for people host Get better acquainted with the range of cannabis products.

“The hospitality license, we’re really excited about this type of license. It offers an opportunity to create major change,” Camargo said. She added: “Just for illustrative purposes, here you see your typical lounge, cafe and entertainment area.”

Camargo used the wildly popular pickleball game as an example of how the hospitality license category could create an opening for cannabis in non-traditional settings.

“So if a pickleball owner wants to make mocktails, you know, cannabis-infused drinks and maybe, let’s just say infused donuts or something like that, they’re going to work with someone in their pickleball shop,” she said. Camargo added: “Think of a comedy club. Think about yoga studios, a movie theater and… when it comes to that, if people want indoor combustion, they’re going to have to get some kind of HVAC system, right?”

She continued: “But guys, the trend continues. It’s not just people who smoke, right? It’s people using cannabis and people educating themselves about cannabis, but in a fun and safe place – pickleball, comedy, comedy shops, things like that.”

Stebbins and Camargo said they expect the first social consumption establishments to open will be those with an additional license, as these will go to companies that already have an establishment here. The CCC is expected to review the proposed regulations later this month, including a meeting on December 17 to consider how the new edition differs from previous proposals. Officials will also release the latest regulations for public comment.

The CCC will also establish four working groups that will focus on public awareness efforts, responsible provider training, community outreach, and implementation and adaptation. The agency requested an additional appropriation of $500,000 for a social consumption awareness campaign and Stebbins said that request would be renewed in the agency’s fiscal year 2026 budget request. He attributed some of the success of launching marijuana retail stores in 2018 to the state and CCC’s extensive education campaigns.

“The public awareness campaign is going to be huge, huge, huge, huge for Massachusetts,” Camargo said. “Because people are going to be really excited about it and the so-called ‘canna-curious’ people are going to be really excited about it. It’s almost like when you’re 21 you’re like, ‘Yeah, my first drink.'” Right?” she said.

The first marijuana industry regulations issued by the CCC in early 2018 included marijuana cafes, marijuana delivery businesses, and the ability for establishments such as movie theaters and massage parlors to offer marijuana products on a limited basis. But regulators gave in to criticism from Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration, the Legislature and others when the CCC agreed to delay the rollout of home delivery and social consumption, two of the most widely condemned parts of the agency’s draft regulations.

The CCC has since introduced home delivery licenses, but social consumption has long been a thornier and more complex issue for an agency tasked with balancing economic benefits for the industry with public safety considerations.

“At some point there will be social consumption. Twenty percent of the public uses marijuana. You have ways to consume it. This is not a new scary group of people that’s going to start doing something new that’s doing scary things,” CCC founding member Shaleen Title said in October 2018. “In 10 years, this will be as normal as going to Boston Common, watch a movie and buy a drink there. But that won’t happen tomorrow.”

Stebbins and Camargo pointed to two things that they believe have better positioned the CCC to succeed with this introduction of social consumption. The first was the Marijuana Reform Act of 2022, which, among other things, changed the process for cities and towns to elect to license social consumption establishments and created a social equity trust fund to assist applicants for social consumption licenses could.

“Chapter 180 also allowed indoor combustion, heating, vaporization and aerosolization of cannabis products, and we didn’t have that before the changes in Chapter 180,” Stebbins said, referring to the 2022 law. “So Chapter 180 really has us helped provide the tools to drive social consumption.”

And the CCC has had “parallel” discussions with other state departments and agencies, with law enforcement and law enforcement training institutions, and with municipalities as it developed the regulatory framework, Camargo said. She said the CCC has already spoken to Boston, Chelsea, Holyoke, Springfield, Northampton and other communities.

“If there’s one thing I’m trying to get across with a lot of these interviews, it’s that cities and towns need to do their part to really understand their municipal process. But also: You’re either in or you’re out.” “And I’m sure some cities are making faster progress than others,” said Camargo. “I hope that cities and towns can see the fine line in terms of regulations because we put this whole thing together to think about: How do we create a safe and successful model? “How do we create a safe and successful model for Massachusetts?”

The Cannabis Commission plans to have the groups focus on outreach and provider training

ByAmelia Journalton

By Amelia Journalton

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