Tag: Massachusetts

1st Legal Marijuana Stores Are Open in Massachusetts

Posted on by AggregatedNews

After years of preparation and debate, legal marijuana is now a reality in Massachusetts.

Any adult can walk into a store, pay cash and walk out with a joint, which they can smoke, legally, in their home.

But the roll-out of the first marijuana stores is only the beginning. In the coming year, marijuana entrepreneurs and regulators will face a host of challenges, from enabling small businesses to enter the market to writing regulations for marijuana cafes to figuring out how to address drugged driving. Continue reading “1st Legal Marijuana Stores Are Open in Massachusetts” →

Recreational Marijuana Sales to Begin in Massachusetts Tuesday

Posted on by AggregatedNews

The first two retail marijuana shops in Massachusetts are set to begin selling products to the public Tuesday, marking the first time recreational pot will be sold east of the Mississippi.

The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission has given the green light to Cultivate Holdings, LLC, which has a retail shop in Leicester, and New England Treatment Access (NETA) LLC, which is readying a store in Northampton, to start selling marijuana and marijuana products. Continue reading “Recreational Marijuana Sales to Begin in Massachusetts Tuesday” →

MMJ Dispensary In Massachusetts Receives First License To Sell Recreational Cannabis

Posted on by AggregatedNews

Massachusetts hit another milestone in its era of legalized marijuana: State regulators granted Cultivate a license to sell recreational marijuana at the company’s existing medical marijuana dispensary in Leicester.

The five-member Cannabis Control Commission unanimously voted to grant the retail license to Cultivate Holdings, Inc., which operates the first medical marijuana dispensary in Worcester County. Continue reading “MMJ Dispensary In Massachusetts Receives First License To Sell Recreational Cannabis” →

Will Massachusetts be the first state to allow social marijuana use?

Posted on by The Associated Press

The state’s Cannabis Control Commission is expected to decide later this month whether to approve draft regulations that would allow for the licensing of social consumption establishments. Continue reading “Will Massachusetts be the first state to allow social marijuana use?” →

Massachusetts Promises Crackdown on Marijuana DUIs

Posted on by AggregatedNews

Massachusetts officials promised a crackdown Thursday on marijuana-impaired driving as the state prepared for full implementation of the voter-approved law legalizing adult use of recreational pot.

State police said they were increasing the number of officers with special training in detecting whether motorists are under the influence of THC, the psychoactive chemical in marijuana. Continue reading “Massachusetts Promises Crackdown on Marijuana DUIs” →

Massachusetts Governor Names Five to Cannabis Advisory Board

Posted on by The Associated Press

Gov. Charlie Baker has picked five people to serve on a Cannabis Advisory Board that will help guide regulators enforcing recreational and medical marijuana laws.

Among those appointed by the Republican governor on Friday are Walpole Police Chief John Carmichael and Henry Thomas, the longtime president of the Urban League of Springfield and former chairman of the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees. Continue reading “Massachusetts Governor Names Five to Cannabis Advisory Board” →

Massachusetts Cannabis Overhaul Could Prompt Legal Challenge

Posted on by Ben Adlin

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker is expected to sign a cannabis overhaul bill that the state Legislature sent to his desk on Thursday, but one Republican lawmaker is already warning that one of the bill’s provisions could invite a lawsuit. Continue reading “Massachusetts Cannabis Overhaul Could Prompt Legal Challenge” →

Massachusetts: Talks on Revamped Pot Bill Appear to Stall as Deadline Nears

Posted on by Associated Press

House and Senate negotiators chased what appeared to be an increasingly elusive compromise over the state’s recreational marijuana law on Friday, a day that legislators had earlier pegged as a self-imposed deadline for reaching a deal. Continue reading “Massachusetts: Talks on Revamped Pot Bill Appear to Stall as Deadline Nears” →

Massachusetts Whiplash: Cannabis Tax Pulled Back to 12%

Posted on by The Associated Press

 The debate over Massachusetts’ recreational marijuana law took a new twist on Friday with the release of a plan that would not raise taxes on cannabis and would leave decisions on whether to ban retail marijuana stores in the hands of local voters. Continue reading “Massachusetts Whiplash: Cannabis Tax Pulled Back to 12%” →

State of the Leaf: House Republican Wants to Deschedule Cannabis

Posted on by Lisa Rough

A bipartisan bill has been introduced by freshman House Rep. Tom Garrett (R-Va.), that would remove marijuana completely from the Controlled Substances Act, effectively decriminalizing cannabis under federal law. Garrett, who replaced cannabis prohibitionist US Rep. Robert Hurt in Virginia’s fifth congressional district, campaigned on a promise to make cannabis reform a priority. Continue reading “State of the Leaf: House Republican Wants to Deschedule Cannabis” →