Massachusetts is just a step away from expanding its cannabis home delivery rules, a move designed to benefit social equity applicants as well as provide a second, potentially lucrative wholesale option.
The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission on Thursday agreed on a two-license structure, with plans to finalize the regulations in October, according to the State House News Service.
- A limited license similar to the current delivery-only license. It would allow an operator to deliver only from licensed medical and recreational marijuana retail outlets.
- A wholesale license that would allow a delivery operator to buy marijuana from cultivators and processors and store the product in a warehouse that meets certain security requirements.
Under the draft regulations, the delivery licenses would be available exclusively to social equity and certified economic-empowerment applicants for the first three years in efforts to bolster small-business participation in the industry.
The proposed fees reflect the desire to lower barriers to entry. For the limited-delivery licenses, the commission agreed to waive the $1,500 application fee, the first-year license fee and charge only half the $5,000 annual fee in the second year.
Wholesale-delivery applicants would pay a $1,500 application fee and a $10,000 annual license fee.
Wholesale-delivery licensees would be allowed to put their own label on the marijuana they deliver but wouldn’t be allowed to relabel vaporizers.
The CCC will take public comments on the draft rules and plans to finalize the regulations on Oct. 20.
