State regulators in Massachusetts say cannabis cafes, “tasting rooms” and more are all part of the vision for their new, proposed social consumption rules and licenses.
Yoga studios, special spots at an event or a space at a pot shop for sampling the product are among the scenarios covered by three proposed license types put forward by the Cannabis Control Commission Thursday.
Members unveiled the “Supplemental,” “Hospitality” and “Event Organizer” license types – part of the commission’s efforts to establish rules for social consumption spaces and establishments.
Massachusetts voters approved adult-use cannabis legalization in 2016, later signed into law in 2017. As rules and licenses for selling cannabis emerged, licensing for social consumption sites was absent.
The CCC says a pause was requested by state officials over public health and safety concerns. A few more hurdles and legislative solutions later, a social consumption working group was formed in 2023 and after a year of work, the proposed policy framework made its debut.
“This framework, and the accompanying regulations, represent our exhaustive and thoughtful work,” said CCC Acting Chair Bruce Stebbins, leading a presentation on the proposals. “It is [in] no way intended to have every answer to every question. We know that this space within the industry has the opportunity to be innovative while continuing to be compliant and successful.”
The product of public hearings and stakeholder meetings, including with local public health boards and municipalities like Springfield, Holyoke and Northampton – Stebbins and other officials unveiled the proposed licenses and rules to accompany them on Dec. 5 during a public meeting.
Among them was the Supplemental license type, which the acting chair referred to as “the classic.”
Intended for existing, qualified marijuana establishments, the license would allow for on-site cannabis consumption within or in a space attached to the establishment.
“…it can be a lounge – everybody always hears of it referred to, potentially, as a café, a tasting room,” Stebbins said. “We’ve always been told, ‘How can we be more like alcohol?’ You go to a microbrewery, they usually have a tasting room attached…”
There’s also the Hospitality licensee class, allowing for consumption either within a new cannabis business or attached to an existing, non-cannabis business, paving the way for mixed-use spaces and partnerships.
“Some examples of that might be a freestanding lounge or freestanding café, a freestanding entertainment or recreational space, a yoga studio,” he listed. “Perhaps a theater that allows for social consumption. A lodging space that may also have a separate, social consumption space attached to it.”
Then there’s the Event Organizer license – allowing qualified entities to host “temporary consumption events,” provided a licensed marijuana establishment is involved and a host community agreement is in order.
“You may seek a temporary on-site consumption permit, allowed in a single or multiple locations. You have the opportunity to store product at your principal place of business – you would still be required, as an event organizer license, to have an HCA with the community where your principal place of business is,” he explained.
Rules for the proposed license include the event not going any longer than five days, with the licensee limited to hosting no more than 24 events a year.
Other rules that apply across the board – a 30-minute cut-off before a licensee closes shop and ID checks, ensuring no one under age 21 enters a social consumption establishment. Also, no personal cannabis products can be brought into an establishment by a customer.
Speaking with WAMC ahead of the unveiling, Payton Shubrick of the Six Bricks cannabis dispensary in Springfield says it would have been great to see the license types arrive sooner.
Founder and CEO of the adult-use business, she says the sampling component of the proposals would make a significant difference in consumer education – allowing customers to acquaint themselves with different kinds of cannabis, rather than opt for the cheapest product with the highest levels of THC in many cases.
“Similar to going to a winery, you now have the opportunity to experience and try different forms of cannabis to better understand, holistically, what is a complicated plant,” she said. “The reason this becomes so important is because cannabis is federally illegal, we simply do not have enough studies, education and information to inform the general public in a meaningful way.”
Shubrick is also Vice Chair for the Massachusetts Cannabis Coalition. She signaled that her business has had discussions with members of the CCC’s social equity program and would look into a potential joint equity venture to pursue one of the license types.
When those license types come into being is still up in the air. The proposed framework’s actual regulation language will be discussed at a Dec. 17 meeting.
A number of public meetings and hearings will also be part of the process before finalizations and filings with the Secretary of State’s office.
The goal is mid-2025, but after that, there is the matter of implementation and tasks like securing funding for a public education campaign, according to Matt Giancola, the commission’s head of government affairs and policy.
There’s also the matter of municipalities.
“Municipalities will also need to determine if they want to allow social consumption through either a bylaw, ordinance or by vote of the citizenry,” Giancola said Thursday. “Then, they’ll need to revise their zoning codes and update local permitting processes.”
Slides from Thursday’s presentation, including more details on the proposed licenses and regulations, can be found here.
State regulators in Massachusetts say cannabis cafes, “tasting rooms” and more are all part of the vision for their new, proposed social consumption rules and licenses. Read More
