{"id":1416,"date":"2021-09-29T21:34:18","date_gmt":"2021-09-29T21:34:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/wp-home\/?p=180081"},"modified":"2021-09-29T21:34:18","modified_gmt":"2021-09-29T21:34:18","slug":"massachusetts-town-charges-local-cannabis-companies-866000-for-policing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=1416","title":{"rendered":"Massachusetts town charges local cannabis companies $866,000 for \u201cpolicing\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>  <title>Massachusetts town charges local cannabis companies $866,000 for &#8220;policing&#8221; &#8211; Leafly<\/title>     <!-- This is Index Exchange, a script\/\/3rd-party integration that interjects GAM. It needs to be 'ahead' of GTM in the DOM, which comes from Cephalopod. GTM loads GAM. This script needs to setup it's interjection stuff before GAM loads. --> <!-- End Index Exchange --> <!-- Quotes = strings--><!-- No quotes = boolean-->\t   <!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v17.1.2 (Yoast SEO v17.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->                  <!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. --> <\/p>\n<p> <!-- BEGIN Sailthru Horizon Meta Information --><\/p>\n<p><!-- END Sailthru Horizon Meta Information -->  <!-- Google Publisher Tag --> <!-- End Google Publisher Tag --> <!-- Google Tag Manager --> <!-- End Google Tag Manager --> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat --><br \/>\n <!-- Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->   <!-- End Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->   <title>Leafly<\/title>     <title>Leafly \u00ae<\/title>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              <title>Loading\u2026<\/title>     <\/p>\n<div class=\"bg-white fixed flex hidden inset-0 items-start md:h-auto md:items-center overflow-auto\" id=\"age-gate-container\">\n<div class=\"bg-white md:h-auto mx-auto p-lg text-sm w-full\" id=\"age-gate\">\n<p><label for=\"select-country\">Where are you from?<\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"age-gate__info\">\n<p><button class=\"button\" data-testid=\"age-gate-no-button\" id=\"tou-cancel\">no<\/button><button class=\"button ml-md\" data-testid=\"age-gate-yes-button\" id=\"tou-continue\">yes<\/button><\/p>\n<p><label class=\"checkbox__label my-xl\"><span class=\"text-xs\" id=\"remember-user-label\">Remember me for 30 days. <br \/>I confirm that this is not a shared device.<\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<p class=\"error error--underage hidden\">Darn! You&#8217;re not old enough to use Leafly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"hidden age-gate__loading\">Redirecting you to<span class=\"redirect-domain\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-xs mt-auto\">By accessing this site, you accept<br \/>\nthe <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"tou-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/terms-of-use\">Terms of Use<\/a><br \/>\nand <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"pp-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"container my-xl\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col md:col-9\" id=\"article-content\">\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">The news this week that a small Massachusetts town is charging more than $1.3 million in \u201cimpact fees\u201d to the three cannabis companies operating within its city limits has reopened the debate over the true impact of cannabis businesses on local communities.<\/p>\n<p>In a recently filed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eagletribune.com\/news\/haverhill\/state-cannabis-chief-questions-impact-fees-after-city-claims-1-3-million-in-costs\/article_aeb21130-1bc2-11ec-b18a-57621a513cca.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lawsuit<\/a>, the cannabis retailer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/dispensary-info\/stem-haverhill\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Stem<\/a> revealed that the city of Haverhill, Massachusetts, is charging its three cannabis businesses a total of $1.3 million in annual impact fees\u2014and $866,930 of that total is earmarked for the town\u2019s police department. <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-text-align-left\">\n<p>The state cannabis board chair says he \u201cdoesn\u2019t buy\u201d the need for exorbitant impact fees.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Those impact fees are being charged despite the fact that myths about cannabis businesses boosting crime have been debunked time and time again. In fact, there\u2019s evidence that cannabis legalization <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/politics\/legalization-gave-police-time-to-fight-real-crime-study-finds\">can actually improve local crime clearance rates<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Even as they operate as positive law-abiding forces in their communities, cannabis companies still have to combat the negative stereotypes perpetuated by America\u2019s War on Drugs. <\/p>\n<p>Without any evidence of negative community impact, we\u2019re left to wonder why some towns and cities are allowed to charge cannabis businesses for additional policing. <\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/wp-home\/?leafly_series=debunking-dispensary-myths\" class=\"wp-block-leafly-blocks-leafly-single-inline-block leafly-inline-related-story\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"border border-deep-green-alt border-l-0 border-r-0 my-xl p-md font-bold\">\n<p>Related<\/p>\n<p>Debunking Dispensary Myths<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a> <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-cannabiz-impact-in-massachusetts\">Cannabiz impact in Massachusetts<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/politics\/text=Massachusetts%20recreational%20marijuana%20laws,-In%202016%2C%20voters&amp;text=Anyone%2021%20and%20over%20can,or%20more%20adults%20per%20home.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Massachusetts\u2019 legalization law<\/a> allows local communities to charge impact fees that are \u201creasonably related to the costs imposed upon the municipality by the operation of the marijuana establishment.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Unlike most other legal states, Massachusetts law forces cannabis companies to sign <a href=\"https:\/\/mass-cannabis-control.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Guidance-on-Host-Community-Guidance.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Host Community Agreements<\/a> (HCAs) with the town in which they operate. This gives local communities enormous leverage over cannabis companies\u2014which encourages them to tax the daylights out of the local weed stores. <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-text-align-left\">\n<p>Host Community Agreements give towns leverage to impose extortionate \u201cimpact fees\u201d on law-abiding stores.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Many Bay State towns use HCAs to create their own mitigation fees based on how they imagine cannabis businesses will impact their townships.<\/p>\n<p>The law was put in place in 2018, when there was little data about the impact of cannabis companies on rates of local substance abuse, intoxicated driving, and crime. <\/p>\n<p>Since then, numerous studies have shown that the community impact of legal cannabis companies is negligible. In fact, it\u2019s often positive. Take <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gazettenet.com\/Northampton-changes-marijuana-regulations-38521528\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Northampton, Massachusetts,<\/a> for example. <\/p>\n<p>In Jan. 2021, Northampton stopped collecting the marijuana mitigation fees to which the city was entitled by state law. Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz explained:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote is-style-solid-color\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThere haven\u2019t been necessarily any major impacts. A lot of the concerns\u2026about this industry mostly came from people who opposed legalization and thought there would be increases in crime, or drug abuse, etc. And I think those concerns have not materialized. We certainly haven\u2019t seen that here in Northampton.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Northampton continues to collect a local 3% excise tax that goes into the city\u2019s general fund, and reserves the right to start collecting mitigation fees again if necessary. But for now, the town finds no negative impact and hence no need for the tax.<\/p>\n<p>Even Steven Hoffman, chairman of the <a href=\"https:\/\/masscannabiscontrol.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission<\/a>, has grown skeptical of the impact fees being charged to legal cannabis stores. \u201cThings like training police on DUI and drug education [have] been going on for a long time and have nothing to do with the introduction of a legal business replacing an illegal business,\u201d he told the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eagletribune.com\/news\/haverhill\/state-cannabis-chief-questions-impact-fees-after-city-claims-1-3-million-in-costs\/article_aeb21130-1bc2-11ec-b18a-57621a513cca.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">North Andover Eagle-Tribune<\/a> earlier this week. \u201cA lot of the incremental expenses cities and towns are saying they are incurring\u2014I just don\u2019t buy.\u201d <\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/politics\/legalization-gave-police-time-to-fight-real-crime-study-finds\" class=\"wp-block-leafly-blocks-leafly-single-inline-block leafly-inline-related-story\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"border border-deep-green-alt border-l-0 border-r-0 my-xl p-md font-bold\">\n<p>Related<\/p>\n<p>Legalization Gave Police Time to Fight Real Crime, Study Finds<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a> <\/p>\n<h2>Specifics of the Haverhill police expenses<\/h2>\n<p>Shaleen Title, a former member of the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission, published a full list of the Haverhill Police Department\u2019s claimed expenses: <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I got a copy of the full list. Cruisers. Police \u201cgear.\u201d DARE Program.<br \/>These are things that the city is DIRECTLY CHARGING dispensaries for, ON TOP OF the 17% in state and 3% in local taxes. This sort of thing is going on all over MA. How are small businesses supposed to compete?? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/9lETS4TiQF\">https:\/\/t.co\/9lETS4TiQF<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LrO0mHu5rL\">pic.twitter.com\/LrO0mHu5rL<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Shaleen Title (@shaleentitle) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/shaleentitle\/status\/1443207475382177792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 29, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The city claimed that the three cannabis businesses owe $1,312,268.65 for their annual impact fees\u2014along with $156,798.22 for one-time costs including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>six additional officers during the day and early night shifts to cover cannabis shops and impaired driving<\/li>\n<li>two additional police cruisers<\/li>\n<li>training for six officers to recognize marijuana impairment<\/li>\n<li>the creation of a Behavioral Response Unit <\/li>\n<li>and a one-time $17,400 cost for uniforms, weapons, holsters, and other personal gear for the officers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A grand total of $884,330.83, or 60.2% of the Haverhill cannabis mitigation revenue, are headed from cannabis businesses straight to the police to help them police cannabis consumers\u2014who are doing nothing more than following the law, purchasing legal cannabis, and enjoying it as they please. <\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/politics\/cannabis-legalization-boosts-property-values-study-says\" class=\"wp-block-leafly-blocks-leafly-single-inline-block leafly-inline-related-story\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"border border-deep-green-alt border-l-0 border-r-0 my-xl p-md font-bold\">\n<p>Related<\/p>\n<p>Cannabis Legalization Boosts Property Values, Study Says<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a> <\/p>\n<h2>Cannabis stores don\u2019t need more policing<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prisonpolicy.org\/blog\/2020\/06\/05\/policingfacts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">In a country where<\/a> the police are twice as likely to use force against people of color, more likely to repeatedly arrest people with substance use disorders and mental health needs, and more likely to use a low-level offense like cannabis possession to usher people into the prison pipeline, there\u2019s absolutely no call to focus police resources on legal cannabis stores, and then tax those store owners for unneeded policing.<\/p>\n<p>Not all of the impact revenue goes to the police. Haverhill gives some of it to its public schools (25% of the amount going to the police), and some (less than $30,000) to the town\u2019s public health program. <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-text-align-left\">\n<p>When will hard-working local business owners stop being treated like public nuisances? <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>But in a country where the police are twice as likely to use force against people of color, more likely to repeatedly arrest people with substance use disorders and mental health needs, and more likely to use a low-level offense like cannabis possession to usher people into the prison pipeline, there\u2019s absolutely no call to overtax local cannabis companies in order to fund shiny new police cruisers. <\/p>\n<p>Not only is $1.3 million an incredible amount of money to charge any small business, but most of Haverhill\u2019s mitigation fees aren\u2019t even helping the community create better public health outcomes. They\u2019re funding even more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/outlook\/underpolicing-cities-violent-crime\/2020\/06\/12\/b5d1fd26-ac0c-11ea-9063-e69bd6520940_story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">harm via overpolicing<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Cannabis businesses like Stem pay their taxes, create local jobs, provide legal weed for their community, and abide by the rules of their host town agreements. When will these hard-working local business owners stop being treated like public nuisances? When will Haverhill start treating their cannabis stores like the essential businesses they truly are? <\/p>\n<div id=\"author-box\" class=\"p-lg my-xxl bg-white rounded border border-light-grey elevation-low\">\n<div class=\"mb-lg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/massachusetts-town-charges-local-cannabis-companies-866000-for-policing.jpg\" alt=\"Janessa Bailey's Bio Image\" class=\"lazyload inline-block mr-md rounded-full border border-light-grey\"> <\/p>\n<p>Janessa Bailey<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"text-sm\">Janessa was born and raised in the Midwest, and serves as Leafly&#8217;s current culture editor. She has a background in content, activism, and African-American Studies. <\/p>\n<p>Janessa is the creator of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/learn\/social-justice\/lumen\">Lumen<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/politics\/leafly-seeds-of-change-2021-report-rates-states-on-marijuana-equity\">Seeds of Change<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p> <a class=\"text-sm font-bold underline text-green\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/author\/janessa-bailey\">View Janessa Bailey&#8217;s articles<\/a> <\/div>\n<div class=\"leafly-sailthru-signup p-lg my-xl bg-white rounded elevation-low border border-light-grey\">\n<p class=\"text-xs pt-lg\">By submitting this form, you will be subscribed to news and promotional emails from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\">Leafly<\/a> and you agree to Leafly&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/tos\">Terms of Service<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>. You can unsubscribe from Leafly email messages anytime.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat -->  <!--\nPerformance optimized by W3 Total Cache. Learn more: https:\/\/www.boldgrid.com\/w3-total-cache\/ Served from: _ @ 2021-09-29 14:34:27 by W3 Total Cache\n--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Massachusetts town charges local cannabis companies $866,000 for &#8220;policing&#8221; &#8211; Leafly Leafly Leafly \u00ae Loading\u2026 Where are you from? noyes Remember me for 30 days. I confirm that this is not a shared device. Darn! You&#8217;re not old enough to use Leafly. Redirecting you to By accessing this site, you accept the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The news this week that a small Massachusetts town is charging more than $1.3 million in \u201cimpact fees\u201d to the three cannabis companies operating within its city limits has reopened the debate over the true impact of cannabis businesses on local communities&#8230;. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1417,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marijuana_information"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/massachusetts-town-charges-local-cannabis-companies-866000-for-policing.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}