Chelsea Record | Communities will Determine the Future of Social Cannabis Consumption in State

By Ava Callender Concepcion and Bruce Stebbins, Commissioners, Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission

On Sept. 12, members of the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission visited the City of Chelsea as part of a series of visits to municipalities across the Commonwealth to educate and engage with state and local leaders, planning and public safety officials, and prospective social consumption businesses about the new license types that will be coming to the Commonwealth.

Regional outreach is just one of our many efforts to gather feedback from stakeholders who will be at the front lines of implementing on-site cannabis consumption in our state. After eliminating a proposed pilot program in 2023, the Commission got to work conducting surveys, holding listening sessions, meeting with numerous stakeholder groups and touring locations in California and Colorado to inform our vision for these license types. On Oct. 23, the Commission will ultimately complete our review and finalize the social consumption rules, incorporating perspective we received along the way, including during a public comment period and hearing hosted by the Commission at its Worcester offices earlier this month.

The Commission has had social consumption regulations in place since 2019; however, a statutory fix was needed to expand the ways in which cities and towns may opt in to hosting such establishments within their borders. Initially municipalities could only do so through a ballot referendum, but the passage of Chapter 180 of the Acts of 2022 enabled communities to opt in through a local by-law or ordinance change as well.

Our latest regulatory revisions aim to ensure that three business models that may eventually make it onto the books will be viable, while providing access to spaces where consumers and patients can use cannabis freely and without stigma—while maintaining public health and safety. Striking that careful balance is a monumental task, so it has been important that we have had a cross-section of input while we work to establish a framework that will work for Massachusetts.

In Chelsea, we enjoyed a fruitful discussion about the possibilities of social consumption and the safeguards needed to make sure it is successful with State Rep. Judith A. Garcia, Chelsea City Manager Fidel Maltez, City Solicitor Cheryl Watson Fisher, Fire Chief John Quarteri, Police Chief Keith Houghton, and Public Health Director Flor Amaya, among others. The visit concluded with a tour of Trinity Naturals, an LGBTQ+, women- and social equity-owned licensed Marijuana Establishment in Chelsea.

In an effort to advance the Commission’s mission to ensure those who have been most harmed by the War on Drugs have opportunities to benefit from the regulated cannabis industry, social consumption licenses will be exclusively available, for a limited time, to participants of the Commission’s equity programs as well as microbusinesses.

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Continue reading the full Op-Ed by Cannabis Control Commissioners Ava Concepcion and Bruce Stebbins in the Chelsea Record here: https://chelsearecord.com/2025/09/24/communities-will-determine-the-future-of-social-cannabis-consumption-in-state/