Gomez Issues Statement on CCC Regulatory Changes
SPRINGFIELD- Last week on Wednesday the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) unanimously (3-0) approved final regulations aimed at increasing efficiencies for patient and consumer cannabis deliveries and the transport of marijuana products used for testing, the expansion of Microbusinesses and Craft Marijuana Cooperatives, and promoting access to care for patients of the Commonwealth’s Medical Use of Marijuana Program.
The changes to 935 CMR 500.00 and 935 CMR 501.00 will end the so-called “two-agent” rule for adult-use cannabis and medical marijuana deliveries, Independent Testing Laboratories, and Marijuana Transporters that move marijuana products throughout the supply chain for the purposes of testing. They also permit Microbusinesses and Craft Marijuana Cooperatives to expand operations, as well as allow patients to request telehealth for their initial certifications. These policies, among others, are the result of months of work by Commissioners and staff to remove barriers for Massachusetts cannabis businesses and patients while maintaining safety across the adult- and medical-use cannabis industry.
State Senator Adam Gomez, Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy, had this to say on the changes that were announced last week, “I think these changes are common sense and necessary, reflecting the Commission’s attention to issues that stakeholders in the industry have said are affecting their bottom-lines and preventing them from getting ahead in this new market. I hope these adjustments will allow some industry people to succeed and new ones to join, while also helping better serve patients and consumers, and look forward to continuing our work to make the legal market thrive here in Massachusetts.”
The final policy changes include:
Delivery and Transport of Testing Samples
For adult-use cannabis delivery licensees and Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers, which previously required two employees to be present for every delivery:
Modifying the requirements to allow the option of delivering to consumers and patients with one agent in a vehicle at a time when all marijuana and marijuana products in the vehicle have a retail value of up to $5,000;
However, licensees may choose to have more than one agent in a vehicle during any delivery service and will be required to staff vehicles with two agents when transporting marijuana products with a retail value exceeding $5,000 and up to the $10,000 delivery maximum;
Modifying the requirements to allow the option of delivering wholesale products with one agent in the vehicle when marijuana and marijuana products have a wholesale value of up to $5,000;
Allowing Marijuana Delivery Operator licensees to repackage marijuana and marijuana products, subject to all current requirements for packaging and labeling;
Increasing the total number of delivery licenses that individuals and entities can own or control from two to three Marijuana Delivery Operator licenses and three Marijuana Courier licenses, bringing Delivery licenses in line with caps imposed on all other License types; and
Expanding delivery hours to 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. under the Commission’s regulations, subject to local restrictions.
Within the adult-use cannabis industry, these changes specifically benefit Social Equity Program Participants (SEPs) and Economic Empowerment Applicants (EEAs), which have exclusive access to these license types.
For ITLs and Marijuana Transporters:
Allowing ITLs and certain Marijuana Transporters the option of transporting between licenses products for the sole purpose of testing with one agent in a vehicle at a time when all products or samples in the vehicle have a wholesale value of up to $5,000.
The Commission also committed to continue reviewing the impacts of expanding the two-to-1 agent reform to other cannabis transportation activities between licenses (e.g., Third Party Transporters and other business-to-business services) as part of future regulatory review, while existing requirements remain in place.
Microbusinesses and Craft Marijuana Cooperatives
For the first time, allowing Microbusinesses to apply for other license types;
This allows existing Microbusiness license holders to possess up to the state’s maximum three Cultivation licenses and three Product Manufacturer licenses, inclusive of the Microbusiness license;
As a result, Microbusinesses will be able to surpass their existing 5,000 square-foot canopy limit for cultivation operations and 2,000-pound limit for marijuana product manufacturing operations by obtaining additional licenses, so long as all Cultivation licenses are subject to the maximum 100,000 square-foot canopy cap;
Microbusinesses would also be eligible to hold other license types, such as Retail and Transport licenses;
Microbusinesses that are certified SEPs or EEAs maintain exclusive access to Delivery Endorsements; and
Authorizing Microbusinesses engaged in product manufacturing to purchase marijuana from Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers in addition to Marijuana Establishments.
The final regulations also clarify Craft Marijuana Cooperatives’ ability to apply for and operate different Marijuana Establishment license types, subject to existing ownership and control limits, in addition to their single Craft Marijuana Cooperative license.
Patient Access
Permitting patients to request a telehealth consultation with a Certifying Healthcare Provider for their initial certification—thereby making permanent a policy that originated under the state’s COVID public health emergency; and
Allowing for Certifying Healthcare Providers who are nurse practitioners with independent practices the authority to certify qualifying patients without a supervising physician.
This change would allow nurse practitioners registered with the Medical Use of Marijuana Program to have the same prescribing authority afforded by the Board of Registration in Nursing (BORN).
Licensee Efficiency
Enabling Marijuana Establishments and Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers to count product instead of weigh it when recording its movement throughout the supply chain to make it more efficient for operators to inventory products based on product type; and
Authorizing Marijuana Establishments and Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers to use and store electronic physical manifests instead of physical ones when transporting product between licensees – as long as they are accessible at any time by Registered Agents.
These amendments follow several other major updates by the Commission over the past year, including the implementation of regulations relative to the state’s equity reform law. This week, the Commission will hold a public listening session focused on Independent Testing Laboratories and related testing matters. The session will be held Nov. 7 at the Commission’s headquarters in Worcester.