Cannabis Control Commission Regulatory Advocacy

EON has been proud to partner with applicants, operators, community leaders, and activists to advance a CCC regulatory agenda that prioritizes the Commonwealth’s focus on fostering equitable participation by increasing opportunities and support for cannabis social equity businesses and eliminating unnecessary barriers.

Cannabis Equity Regulatory Reform Agenda

Economic Empowerment & Social Equity Priorities

• Extend exclusivity for delivery and require a study to demonstrate sufficient progress toward full participation before it can be removed
• Establish workable social consumption regulations with low barriers to entry and at least five years of exclusivity
• Improve the retail finder to filter equity licensees, find delivery operators, and review ownership, Positive Impact Plan, and Diversity Plan data
• Fund and strengthen the Social Equity Program
• Launch an anonymous tip line to report ownership limit violations
• Conduct a comprehensive review of all licensee ownership for compliance, either as part of a forensic audit or standalone effort
• Improve ownership data transparency and accessibility
• Provide dedicated support staff to answer questions from equity applicants and licensees
• Implement medical vertical de-integration with equity exclusivity to better serve patients in Areas of Disproportionate Impact and open additional revenue channels for equity licensees
• Further reduce or eliminate fees for equity businesses
• Prioritize of equity businesses at all stages of processing application and licensing submissions and when scheduling inspections and other meetings
• Incentivize licensees to stock products from equity cultivators and manufacturers through leadership rankings and Positive Impact Plans
  • Track and publish data on licensee commitments and progress toward purchasing from equity businesses
• Allow delivery to No Towns and hotels
• Convene stakeholders to discuss the potential merits and drawbacks of
  • Statewide exclusivity period for all license types
  • Statewide 1:1 licensing ratio for all license types
  • Statewide cultivation canopy limit
  • Other statewide licensing moratorium or cap proposals, provided the existing ownership limits stay in place.

Industry Priorities

• Reform agent registration and badging to enable one badge per agent and end wasteful duplication
• Reform advertising, sales, and reward program regulations to enable small businesses to compete
• Align our adult use and medical program with other states regarding potency and purchase limits and patient and doctor registration reciprocity

Read our latest CCC advocacy news…

• EON, BECMA, & Equity Operators call for five-year extension of delivery exclusivity period
  In response to the Cannabis Control Commission’s request for feedback on the delivery license exclusivity period for social equity businesses, Equitable Opportunities Now, the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, members of EON’s Massachusetts Cannabis Equity Council, and other small business owners testified at the CCC’s Dec. 11 public listening session and submitted the letter below.… Read more: EON, BECMA, & Equity Operators call for five-year extension of delivery exclusivity period
• EON Urges CCC to improve ownership data transparency & tip line and urges Legislature to protect competition
  Following up on a previous call for an investigation into alleged license cap violations, EON and members of our Mass. Cannabis Equity Council sent the following letter urging the CCC to improve ownership data transparency & tip line and urge the Legislature to protect competition. Dear Acting Chair Stebbins and Commissioners Camargo, Concepcion, and Roy:… Read more: EON Urges CCC to improve ownership data transparency & tip line and urges Legislature to protect competition
• State lawmakers weigh independence, structure of Cannabis Control Commission as they consider reforms | GBH News
  Eight years after Massachusetts voters passed a ballot law legalizing the adult use of marijuana, state legislators are exploring whether there are ways to make the cannabis regulatory system work better for businesses, consumers and others involved in the industry.
• Does the Cannabis Control Commission need legislative intervention? | State House News / NBC 10 Boston
  Donahue asked several of the people and groups that were invited to testify Wednesday (the CCC was not invited to testify) whether they thought that the statutory structure of the CCC contributed to the issues they raised. He asked about how other state cannabis oversight agencies are structured and whether moving the CCC under an executive office might make sense. That idea would be a non-starter for Kevin Gilnack, the policy co-chair for Equitable Opportunities Now, though he did agree that “recent events obviously have highlighted the need for some potential clarification and enhancements of the CCC’s authorizing statute.”
• Cannabis Industry Stakeholders Unload Concerns At Beacon Hill Hearing | Talking Joints Memo
  Massachusetts business owners, industry trade groups, and advocates ask lawmakers to reform the Cannabis Control Commission…
• Public Comments to Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy Regarding the Cannabis Control Commission
  On Wednesday, Oct. 30, representatives from EON and our Massachusetts Cannabis Equity Council were invited to testify before the Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy regarding governance and operational issues at the Cannabis Control Commission. Check out remarks from EON Policy Co-Chair Kevin Gilnack, Zèb Boutique Owner Drudys Ledbetter, and Dris Brands Owner Chris Fevry in the hearing video and read our full letter to the Committee below.
• Public comments regarding Independent Testing Labs, Third Party Transporters, and the need to avoid delay of delivery regulatory changes
  We are writing to express concern that ongoing deliberations regarding changes to the third-party transporter and Independent Testing Lab (ITL) should not cause any further delay in advancing these critical and overdue changes for equity businesses, microbusinesses, and patients.
• Poll: Share your thoughts about the CCC
  Equitable Opportunities Now is honored to have been invited to testify before the Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy about the Cannabis Control Commission. Help us represent you and your concerns by sharing your feedback now!
• CCC to Host Public Listening Session on Independent Testing Laboratories on November 7
  The Cannabis Control Commission (Commission) will host a Public Listening Session on Independent Testing Laboratories (ITLs) and related matters on November 7, 2024
• Public Comments Regarding Delivery, Microbusiness, & Telehealth CCC Regulations
  Equitable Opportunities Now’s (EON) board and staff; our network of grassroots activists, consumers, patients, entrepreneurs, and workers; the social equity business leaders in our Massachusetts Cannabis Equity Council (MCEC); and the undersigned delivery operators commend you for your ongoing efforts to enhance your regulations. Given both the industry and regulatory framework are still young and evolving, we deeply appreciate your openness to engaging stakeholders and reviewing regulations that can better balance flexibility, access, profitability, health, safety, and equity. We hope that you find the following public comments regarding your proposed regulatory changes helpful and welcome the opportunity to discuss them further.
• Speak out for Black & Brown cannabis delivery operators
  Cannabis delivery licenses are exclusively available to people from communities harmed by the war on drugs. But these local small businesses owned by Black, Brown, low-income, and previously arrested people have been held back by burdensome regulations. Thanks to advocacy from delivery businesses and advocates like you, the CCC is on the verge of passing… Read more: Speak out for Black & Brown cannabis delivery operators
• POLL: Help us get social consumption right in Massachusetts!
  Social consumption licenses are a new frontier for advancing equitable economic opportunity in the Commonwealth’s cannabis industry — and your input is critical to make sure we get it right.
• Mass. Cannabis Equity Leaders Call for Investigation into Alleged License Cap Violations
  More than a dozen cultivation, manufacturing, and dispensary owners, along with BECMA and EON, are raising concerns about repeated reports that owners of Ascend Wellness — a large, multistate operator founded and headquartered in Massachusetts — have violated the Commonwealth’s ownership limits.
• Cannabis equity end-of-session priorities: Expand medical access & equity and reject changes to license caps & CCC receivership
  Equitable Opportunities Now submitted the following letter to Massachusetts legislators expressing our deep appreciation for their support, highlighting widely-supported bills, opposing changes to license caps, and opposing putting the Cannabis Control Commission into receivership…
• EON’s Comments to DEA on Need to Deschedule Marijuana
  Rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III is not enough. Marijuana must be removed from the CSA and should be federally regulated for both medical and adult use.  Rescheduling does not address the challenges and injustices that must be reckoned with…