Commission Regulatory Working Groups Seek Public Comment on Host Community Agreements, Municipal Equity, and Social Consumption Reforms

The Cannabis Control Commission (Commission) is currently reviewing its regulations and considering policy changes that respond to recent changes in state law known as Chapter 180 of the Acts of 2022: An Act Relative to Equity in the Cannabis Industry. Three Working Groups composed of Commissioners and staff have been discussing policies to implement reforms based on the following subject areas:

• Host Community Agreements (HCAs): The HCA Working Group is tasked with developing policy recommendations relative to the new statutory requirement that the Commission reviews HCAs, establish a written waiver process, and develop a model HCA.
• Municipal Equity: The Municipal Equity Working Group (WG) is tasked with developing policy recommendations relative to the new statutory mandates to promote social equity at the municipal level. The Commission is required to establish procedures and policies for municipalities to promote Economic Empowerment Priority Applicants (EEAs) and Social Equity Program Participant (SEP) businesses, including new standards for prioritizing applicants, minimum acceptable standards, and best practices for municipalities negotiating HCAs.
• Social Consumption: Under Chapter 180, municipalities can now authorize social consumption at the local level. The Social Consumption Working Group is tasked with reviewing the Commission’s existing social consumption regulations to consider whether any new regulations or amendments to the existing regulations are needed to move the Social Consumption Marijuana Establishment license forward in Massachusetts.

Interested citizens and stakeholders across the Commonwealth are invited to share their thoughts, ideas, and concerns on these topics. Please submit written comment electronically to Investigations and Enforcement Project Manager Mercedes Erickson at Mercedes.Erickson@CCCMass.com. Comments can be submitted as an attached Word document or as text within the body of an email. Constituents should note in the subject line, “Regulatory Review,” and identify one of the three Working Groups above that should review the comment.  All submissions should include the commenter’s full name, city/town and state, and if available, electronic mail address and phone number.

All public comment should be submitted as soon as possible, and not later than April 28, 2023. Any submissions received after that date may not be reviewed. In the interest of transparency, the Commission may publish the submissions it receives or produce them in response to a request made under the Massachusetts Public Records Law, M.G.L. c. 66, § 10, or other compulsory legal process.

Please note: the Commission’s 2023 regulatory revision process is still in its early stages, and the Working Groups’ consideration of policy changes is just the first phase of several opportunities for the public to review and provide feedback. Once the Commission drafts updates to the regulations, they will be published, discussed at Commission public meeting, and open for additional comment before they are finalized and promulgated by the Secretary of the Commonwealth in accordance with state law. The Commission is required to promulgate new regulations implementing Chapter 180 (HCAs and Municipal Equity) no later than November 9, 2023.