Theaters with cannabis consumption spaces, yoga studios where you can stretch and light up or dispensaries where you can sample the product - those are all scenarios the Cannabis Control Commission hopes to permit and regulate if its social consumption rules come to pass.
State officials unveiled the framework for its social consumption license types in December: three types that would pave the way for things like on-site, cannabis consumption events or cannabis cafes.
Just over a month ago, officials issued a draft of its proposed social consumption regulations, with the public’s feedback being sought ahead of any finalizations this fall.
"That public comment period is still so critical to making sure that we shape our regulations in a way that it's a license type people will want to apply for, it's a license type by which people can find a successful business model," says CCC Acting Chair Bruce Stebbins.
After a month of collecting comments, the deadline is Monday, Sept. 8.
The 153-page draft covers a lot of ground, from on-site consumption licensing to penalties for violations to edibles to product testing. Stebbins tells WAMC more feedback will only shape the language further.
He adds the regulations as they are carry plenty of potential for what he calls “entrepreneurial innovation” via license types like the proposed “Hospitality” class.
“You could have a yoga studio that, at times, offers classes with cannabis products. You could be a bed-and-breakfast that decides ... to have a cannabis consumption lounge on [the] property. You're a movie theater that wants to have a cannabis beverage night," he says. "I think what we've seen is different and unique than what other jurisdictions have done to this point."
"Some other components that are important - a big focus on public health and public safety," he adds. "Licensees will be required to have a transportation plan, how they could get a consumer home safely, cooldown spaces for somebody who has an adverse reaction...."
According to the State House News Service, Massachusetts is on track to become the 11th state in the union to allow the social consumption of cannabis. That is, consuming cannabis products in a permitted public, social setting, much like alcohol at a bar or concert. States like New York and New Jersey already have social consumption rules on the books.
Under the guidelines, Massachusetts municipalities would still have to opt-in for allowing such consumption sites. The sites or venues themselves would also have to apply for licensure through the CCC.
"On Monday, we're also holding a in-person public hearing at our offices in Worcester - we're right in Worcester Union Station, so we invite people to sign up and come by," Stebbins says. "From here, we'll look at all those comments, staff will consider those comments with respect to the current draft and then at the end of September, we have set aside three days to walk through all those potential changes, walk through the final version one more time, and discuss (them) among commissioners, and then, hopefully, get to a point where we can approve a final set of regulations."
"They [then] go to the Secretary of State - their office publishes that final version, and then they are essentially effective," he notes.
