ONE OF THE main arguments in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana was that consumers would have access to tested, regulated products, and know exactly what they are buying. But a CommonWealth investigation reveals that the potency levels listed on websites and product labels at marijuana stores are regularly inflated, sometimes by as much as a […]
Marijuana
Posted inMarijuana, State Government, State House News Service
Cannabis commission seeks 23% budget increase
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MEMBERS OF THE  Cannabis Control Commission voted  to approve a fiscal year 2024 budget request of more than $23.7 million, including 26 new hires and $1.5 million to fund public awareness campaigns called for in this summer’s cannabis industry reform law. Fiscal 2024 does not start until July 1, 2023, but […]
Posted inMarijuana
Boston marijuana shop opens with construction workers unpaid
ON ITS WEBSITE, Newbury Street marijuana retailer Rooted In touts its commitment to social justice, equity, and the Boston area community. It boasts of profit sharing with employees and a commitment to building generational wealth for people of color.  “Our mission is to build a community-conscious cannabis business committed to engaging, serving, and benefiting members […]
Posted inMarijuana
Dairy farmers losing out in O’Brien pot licensing flap
A MONTH AGO, the Cannabis Control Commission deferred consideration of a license for a marijuana farm that Cannabis Control Commission chair Shannon O’Brien was previously involved with, to avoid concerns about a conflict of interest.  But the farmers at the center of the high-profile dispute say they did everything regulators asked for – and the […]
Posted inMarijuana
Congress starts considering marijuana legalization
IN EARLY OCTOBER, President Biden called for a review of whether marijuana should continue to be classified federally among the most dangerous drugs. That review heightened calls for Congress to decriminalize marijuana. Advocates argue that the continuing criminalization of marijuana is nonsensical since 37 states and Washington, DC allow medical marijuana and 19 states and […]
Posted inMarijuana, State Government
Could Massachusetts become a cannabis research hub?Â
WITH WORLD CLASS medical facilities and universities, and a highly educated workforce, Massachusetts is a national leader in medicine, life sciences, and biotech. Could the state leverage those assets to also become a leading light of cannabis research? As President Biden pledges to explore changing federal restrictions on cannabis, some researchers and policymakers hope to […]
Posted inMarijuana
An opportunity to make cannabis industry more equitable
FOR YEARS, budding marijuana entrepreneurs – particularly those of color – have complained that the legal industry is dominated by Big Pot. Now is the time for those advocates to take seats at the policy-making table. The marijuana equity law Gov. Charlie Baker signed in August created a Social Equity Trust Fund, which will offer […]
Posted inMarijuana
Trulieve defends response to worker’s death
FACING PUBLIC SCRUTINY of its worker safety practices after cannabis worker Lorna McMurrey’s death, multi-state cannabis company Trulieve on Thursday released a lengthy statement defending its practices and explaining for the first time the circumstances surrounding McMurrey’s death after working a shift at Trulieve’s Holyoke cultivation facility.  The three-page statement issued by Trulieve spokesperson Rob […]
Posted inMarijuana
Cannabis regulators confirm agency was told quickly of worker’s death
THE STAFF AT the state Cannabis Control Commission was notified of cannabis cultivation worker Lorna McMurrey’s death within days of when it occurred, agency officials said Friday night, despite earlier statements by two commissioners who said they learned of her death from the media. The commission also said it had already been investigating conditions at […]
Posted inMarijuana, State Government
Cannabis commissioners learned ‘through the media’ about Holyoke death
IT TOOK EIGHT MONTHS after Lorna McMurrey died after working a shift at a Holyoke cannabis cultivation facility for the circumstances of her death to be publicly reported. Comments made by state cannabis regulators Thursday suggest that, astonishingly, they might have been just as in the dark as the public. The company involved, however, says […]