MA Cannabis Control Commission approves re-written rules on annual fee for medical patients and set the stage for home delivery of recreational marijuana and marijuana vaping lounges.

The Daily Hampshire Gazette reports…..BOSTON — After unanimously agreeing to them last week, cannabis regulators released rewritten rules Tuesday that would govern both sides of the legal marijuana world, proposing regulations to eliminate an annual fee for medical patients and set the stage for home delivery of recreational marijuana and marijuana vaping lounges.

The Cannabis Control Commission set out to revise and republish its slate of regulations after assuming control of the medical marijuana program from the Department of Public Health in December and as regulators approved the first licensed pot stores in Massachusetts. The product of months of policy discussions and hearings, the new draft regulations for the medical marijuana world as well as the adult-use or recreational industry will be open for public input until Aug. 16.

“This has been painstaking; this has been hard,” CCC Chairman Steven Hoffman said last Thursday, thanking staff members for their work on the draft regulations. The CCC voted 5-0 Thursday to approve the draft regulations, but they were not released publicly until Tuesday.

In addition to eliminating the $50 annual registration fee for medical marijuana patients, the draft regulations spell out the proposed rules for two areas that have been topics of much discussion since the early days of legal marijuana and the CCC: authorized social or public use of marijuana and home delivery of nonmedical 

Read more at https://www.gazettenet.com/Massachusetts-new-pot-regulations-

 

Coming up:

Draft Regulations Proposing Changes to Adult Use, Medical Use of Marijuana Programs Now Available, Open to Public Comment

Public comment on draft regulations will be accepted through August 15*

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

July 2, 2019

CONTACT: Cedric Sinclair, Director of Communications, 857-268-6454; Maryalice Gill, Press Secretary, 857-292-4891; cnbpress@state.ma.us

BOSTON—The Cannabis Control Commission (Commission) today filed with the Secretary of State’s Regulation Division draft changes to Massachusetts’ adult use and medical use of cannabis regulations. Copies of the filings are available for download at MassCannabisControl.com/Documents/.

Public hearings on the drafts will be held next month and a public comment period will be open through August 15.* Please note the updated public comment period is the result of a scheduling change for the related public hearings, which will be held:

• Wednesday, August 14, 2019 at 10 a.m.
Health Policy Commission
50 Milk Street, 8th Floor
Boston, MA 02110

• Thursday, August 15, 2019 at 10 a.m.
Western New England University School of Law
Moot Court Room
1215 Wilbraham Road
Springfield, MA 01119

Residents may view the Notice of Public Hearing and Comment and email public comments on the drafts to CannabisCommission@mass.gov.

After August 15, the Commission will reconvene to consider the public’s feedback and vote again on the final changes before new regulations are promulgated by the Secretary. The proposed revisions are based upon several public policy meetings and include new license types as well as unified application, enforcement, and administrative processes for the adult and medical use programs. In addition to adjusting fees, the Commission has agreed to eliminate annual registration fees for patients.

For a summary of other policy changes, visit MassCannabisControl.com. Video recordings of the Commission’s previous public policy discussions regarding the draft regulations are available on Facebook and YouTube.

For more information, contact the Commission at 617-701-8400, email the Commission at CannabisCommission@mass.gov, or follow the Commission on Twitter.

Notice is given pursuant to M.G.L. c. 30A, § 2, that the Cannabis Control Commission (Commission) will hold public hearings and receive public comment on the promulgation of the following:

Revised regulations for 935 CMR 500.000 Adult Use of Marijuana, and 935 CMR 501.000 Medical Use of Marijuana.  The revisions address fees; new license types, including delivery and social consumption; application, enforcement and administrative processes; operational issues, including cash handling procedures, transaction and potency limits, and energy and environmental issues, among other policy areas.

These regulations are promulgated pursuant to the Commission’s authority under St. 2016, c. 334, The Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act, as amended by St. 2017, c. 55,An Act to Ensure Safe Access to Marijuana; M.G.L. c. 94G, Regulation of the Use and Distribution of Marijuana Not Medically Prescribed; and M.G.L. c. 94I, Medical Use of Marijuana.

The text of the proposed regulations may also be viewed by visiting the Commission’s website, emailing CannabisCommission@State.MA.US, or calling the Commission at (617) 701-8400.

Public hearings.  The Commission encourages interested parties to attend public hearings and provide comment, which will be held on the following dates:

August 14, 2019, 10:00 a.m. Health Policy Commission
50 Milk Street, 8th Floor
Boston, MA  02109
August 15, 2019, 10:00 a.m. Western New England University School of Law
Moot Court Room
1215 Wilbraham Road
Springfield, MA 01119

At these hearings, speakers are asked to provide a copy of their oral testimony.

Electronic submissions.
The Commission also encourages interested parties to submit testimony electronically to: CannabisCommission@State.MA.US. Electronic testimony can be submitted as an attached Word document or as text within the body of an email and with the subject of “Draft Regulations: Adult Use of Marijuana” or “Draft Regulations: Medical Use of Marijuana” as appropriate.  The Commission asks commenters to provide their full name, city/town and state, and if available, electronic mail address.  If possible, we also ask that commenters identify the section of the regulations that applies to their comments.

Written submissions.
If interested parties are unable to submit electronic testimony, they can mail written submissions to:

Cannabis Control Commission
101 Federal Street, 13thFloor
Boston, MA 02110
Attention: Public Comments

All public testimony and comment are strongly encouraged to be submitted as soon as possible, but not later than 5:00 p.m. on August 15, 2019.  Any public comments received after that date may not be considered.  In the interest of transparency, the Commission may post comments it receives on its website or produce these comments in response to a request made under the Massachusetts Public Records Law, M.G.L. c. 66, § 10. 

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