AFTER A LENGTHY discussion, marijuana regulators on Thursday declined to approve a license for a marijuana company that the new chair of the Cannabis Control Commission, Shannon O’Brien, was previously an owner of. Instead, citing confusion about whether the change of ownership was properly done, the commission returned the application to staff for further investigation. […]
Marijuana
Posted inMarijuana
Worker dies at Holyoke cannabis cultivation facility
LORNA MCMURREY, a 27-year-old West Springfield woman, died in January after a shift working at a Holyoke cannabis cultivation facility. The company, Trulieve, was fined $35,200 by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which found that McMurrey could not breathe after inhaling ground cannabis dust. McMurrey’s mother, Laura Bruneau, said she is considering filing a […]
Posted inMarijuana
Marijuana delivery companies seek repeal of two-driver rule
EVEN BEFORE Chris Fevry launched Your Green Package, one of the first licensed marijuana courier companies in Massachusetts, he was worried about whether the business model was financially viable. Could a company act as an Uber Eats for marijuana, delivering products from a retailer to a customer, and earn enough from delivery fees to profit? […]
Posted inMarijuana
SJC tells judges to grant marijuana expungements
THE 2018 criminal justice reform law let old marijuana convictions be expunged. But by and large, it hasn’t done much. A 2021 Boston Globe story called that provision an “utter failure,” noting that only a fraction of those with marijuana convictions had petitioned for expungement. One reason may be that most people convicted of marijuana […]
Posted inMarijuana, State Government
New CCC chair consulted for cannabis companies
SHANNON O’BRIEN, the former state treasurer and newly appointed chair of the Cannabis Control Commission, is not a novice to cannabis. O’Brien worked as a consultant for two marijuana companies that obtained licenses from the commission, although she says she has had no contact with either one for nearly a year. Treasurer Deb Goldberg announced […]
Posted inMarijuana, State Government
Former treasurer Shannon O’Brien picked to lead cannabis board
FORMER STATE TREASURER Shannon O’Brien, who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2002, will be the next chair of the Cannabis Control Commission. Treasurer Deborah Goldberg announced the appointment Tuesday. O’Brien will be sworn in Thursday, the fifth anniversary of the commission’s founding. O’Brien replaces Sarah Kim, who had been serving as interim chair since […]
Posted inDrugs, Marijuana, Politics
Healey says her prior cannabis concerns may have been ‘unnecessary’
IT WAS NOVEMBER 2016, days before Massachusetts voters would legalize recreational marijuana. Attorney General Maura Healey stood in front of the State House at a rally with health care professionals and warned of dangerous outcomes should marijuana be legalized. Ballot question opponents voiced concerns that marijuana-infused edibles could be accidentally eaten by children and that […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker signs bill bringing equity to cannabis industry
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Thursday signed a bill aimed at giving minority cannabis entrepreneurs easier access into the industry, and also paving the way for municipalities to allow marijuana cafes. The bill better regulates host community agreements, creates a state-run loan fund for minority entrepreneurs, lowers taxes for marijuana businesses, and makes it easier to […]
Posted inCourts, Drugs, Guns, Marijuana, State Government
Here’s what passed in marathon all-night legislative session
IN A MARATHON all night session, the Massachusetts Legislature finally finished many of their key priorities of the 2021-2022 legislative session, even as one key priority – tax reform – remained undone. They passed bills on equity in the cannabis industry, legalizing sports betting, and tightening gun licensing laws in the wake of a Supreme […]
Posted inMarijuana
Some advice for crafting final cannabis reform bill
AFTER YEARS OF ADVOCACY by community members, entrepreneurs, Cannabis Control Commissioners, and lawmakers, the Legislature is finally on the verge of passing comprehensive cannabis reform legislation that will help deliver on Question 4’s promise to support equitable opportunity in this new market. Both chambers’ bills take major steps toward improving equitable market participation through access […]