Legal marijuana

Massachusetts issues first marijuana license

Marijuana

Massachusetts issues first marijuana license

It’s a milestone, but retail pot probably won’t be available July 1

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THE CANNABIS CONTROL COMMISSION marked a historic milestone Thursday with the approval of the first license for recreational pot in the state – the first ever granted east of the Mississippi River, in fact – to a cultivation facility in Milford. “We’ll go back to the office and celebrate for about five minutes,” Chairman Steven(...)

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Pot board red-faced over green light

Economy/ Marijuana/ Politics

Pot board red-faced over green light

Cannabis commission inadvertently approved 10 applicants recommended for denial

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THE STATE BOARD overseeing the nascent pot industry in Massachusetts had been running smoothly in its first months of operation. But as the most critical aspect of its mission began – giving thumbs up or down to applications for marijuana sales and cultivation – the commission hit a glitch when 10 suitors for licenses were(...)

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Too many municipal marijuana bottlenecks

Drugs/ Politics/ Opinion

Too many municipal marijuana bottlenecks

Industry’s grand opening will arrive with a whimper

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APPLICATIONS FOR ADULT-USE MARIJUANA licenses have begun to pour into the state’s newly created Cannabis Control Commission with likely several hundred applications expected in 2018 alone. The commission has quickly assembled regulations and an application process that should be commended. And as a primary adult-use supporter during my days serving in the Massachusetts House of(...)

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Pot board high on Worcester

Economy/ Marijuana/ Technology

Pot board high on Worcester

Cannabis commission to locate main office in central Mass.

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THE STATE BOARD regulating the legal marijuana industry will set up permanent shop in Worcester as its headquarters with a satellite office in Boston. The five-member Cannabis Control Commission on Tuesday voted unanimously to seek a 13,000-square foot office space in the state’s second largest city and find a smaller, 5,000-square foot office in the(...)

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The Download/ Marijuana

The Codcast: Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em

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To listen to the state’s newest regulatory commission in its meetings, the tenor and terms, for the most part, are no different than hearings regarding oversight of most industries in the state. But the big difference is the industry they are charged with overseeing – legal marijuana – and members of the Cannabis Control Commission have(...)

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Pot board mandates medical set-aside

Marijuana

Pot board mandates medical set-aside

Says growers have to keep 30 percent for patients before selling retail

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STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE HOPING TO ASSUAGE fears that medical marijuana patients could find their medicine in short supply when dispensaries begin selling to the newly-legal retail market, state pot regulators on Tuesday agreed to a policy that will require dispensaries to hold some marijuana aside for medical patients. Registered medical dispensaries that wish to(...)

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Pot board retreats on sweeping regs

Marijuana

Pot board retreats on sweeping regs

Votes to delay home delivery, pot bars for at least a year

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THE COMMISSION OVERSEEING the nascent pot industry bowed to pressure from top elected leaders and put off approving home delivery and so-called “social consumption” cafes but voted to give minorities the preference for those permits when they become available. In the first of three days of hearings at the State House to finalize regulations, the(...)

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Pot chair says no pressure on regs

Marijuana/ Politics

Pot chair says no pressure on regs

Warnings from top officials will not slow commission timeline

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THE CHAIRMAN OF the state board charged with regulating legal pot said he and his colleagues are feeling no added pressure in light of comments from top elected officials calling for the panel to slow down on issuing regulations for a broad array of marijuana businesses. The Cannabis Control Commission is wrapping up its public(...)

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Lelling doesn’t budge on pot stance

Criminal Justice/ Drugs

Lelling doesn’t budge on pot stance

'It puts the banks in a bind, I understand that,' he says

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STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE OPIOID CRIMES ARE HIS TOP drug enforcement priority, but US Attorney Andrew Lelling told reporters Wednesday that his enforcement of federal marijuana laws could ensnare anyone from an hourly wage employee at a marijuana dispensary to a bank that opens an account for a pot shop. During a meeting with reporters(...)

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Debit card payer pulls plug on pot dispensaries

Drugs/ Economy/ Health/ Marijuana

Debit card payer pulls plug on pot dispensaries

Cash only after statement by federal prosecutor begins to chill legal market

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THE HARDLINE STANCE from the top federal prosecutor in the state about pot enforcement has caused a company that processes debit transactions for medical marijuana dispensaries to stop accepting the bank cards and forced the shops to revert to cash-only, adding a layer of hardship to patients. Westborough-based Merchant Services Consulting Group (MSCG), which processes(...)

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