Tag Archives: Massachusetts

Key Takeaways:

• The Massachusetts Legislature has proposed new limitations on community impact fees, which may change the dynamic of the relationship between licensees and their host communities.
• Once effective, the Cannabis Control Commission would be charged with reviewing the community impact fee provisions of both new and existing HCAs for compliance.
• Specific limitations on community impact fees include a prohibition on fees tied to a percentage of gross sales.…

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Key Takeaways:

• Massachusetts is on the brink of becoming the next member of a growing number of states that are “decoupling” from Section 280E, the federal tax law that severely limits the extent to which cannabis-related businesses can deduct expenses for income tax purposes.
• If pending legislation is enacted, such limitations would not apply for Massachusetts state income tax purposes, leading to potential tax relief for Massachusetts cannabis-related businesses.…

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Last week, the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy (the “Committee”) released a new cannabis bill (H 174/S 72, the “Bill”) through the Committee without any opposition.  The bill proposes major changes to host community agreements (“HCA”) and the current approach to social equity in the industry. It also proposes to provide a legislative fix allowing for on-site consumption establishments. This bill will require the Cannabis Control Commission (“CCC”) to make some substantial changes to the existing regulations,… More

On November 23, 2021, the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) released Draft Guidance on Hemp (Draft Guidance).

Pursuant to a 2020 amendment, adult-use cannabis establishments licensed by the CCC are permitted to cultivate, manufacture, and sell hemp products. This amendment did not give the CCC the authority to regulate hemp or hemp products—that authority remains with the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health,… More

In September 2019, the City of Cambridge enacted a local ordinance that effectively created a two-year moratorium on new cannabis retailers unless the retailers were certified Economic Empowerment applicants.  The ordinance prompted a lawsuit filed by Revolution Clinics, which owns an existing medical cannabis dispensary in Cambridge, in October 2019.   Under the ordinance, Revolution Clinics would not have been allowed to obtain a local business permit to sell adult-use cannabis until September 2021. … More