Massachusetts lawmakers seem poised to tackle some of the cannabis industry’s biggest woes in this legislative session. The House voted 153-2 May 18 to pass a bill that would promote greater diversity in the market, increase oversight on the host community agreements that cannabis businesses must enter into with the state’s municipalities, and establish a regulatory framework for on-site cannabis consumption lounges, according to a GBH News report. “Since the passage of legal recreational cannabis, the creation and growth of the legal industry in the commonwealth has been, in most cases, a success, leading to hundreds of new businesses, thousands of new jobs, and the creation of new revenue streams for the commonwealth and its municipalities through this new and innovative industry,” Rep. Dan Donahue, D-Worcester, the House chair of the Cannabis Policy Committee and the bill’s sponsor, said, according to the news outlet. “It is, however, time to revisit the initial legislation to provide clarity on the intent of the legislation and to work to ensure we continue to remove barriers to entry into this unique industry for those communities who are so disproportionately harmed and impacted by the prohibition of marijuana.”
Posted Melissa Schiller, Cannabis Business Times, 05/19/2022 15:50:00