{"id":4029,"date":"2022-02-02T01:36:49","date_gmt":"2022-02-02T01:36:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/CBMiOWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmdhemV0dGVuZXQuY29tL0JpbGwtcGFzc2VzLWNvbW1pdHRlZS00NDg2OTE3MdIBAA"},"modified":"2022-02-02T01:36:49","modified_gmt":"2022-02-02T01:36:49","slug":"sweeping-cannabis-bill-sails-through-joint-committee-gazettenet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=4029","title":{"rendered":"Sweeping cannabis bill sails through joint committee &#8211; GazetteNET"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><title> Sweeping cannabis bill sails through joint committee<br \/>\n<\/title>          <!-- Favicons -->                 <!--Bootstrap Glyphicons-->  <!-- Bootstrap -->  <!-- 2018 NNE-CM Overrides-->   <!-- jQuery (necessary for Bootstrap's JavaScript plugins) --> <!-- Bootstrap JS --> <!--include jQuery cookie for remembering close action --> <!-- Open Sans for meta info-->  <!--Adriane font from Adobe-->  <!--Font Awesome for social icons-->  <!-- Tecnavia Paywall --> <!-- Start DFP jQuery invocation script -->  <!--admiral--> <!--admiral--> <!--begin canonical url --><\/p>\n<p><!--end canonical url --> <!--begin Facebook meta tags --><\/p>\n<p><!-- end Facebook meta tags--><br \/>\n<!-- begin twitter cards --><\/p>\n<p><!--end twitter cards--><br \/>\n<!-- set paywall criteria --> <!-- end paywall criteria --><!-- Connatix Story Article Player Head --> <!-- End Connatix Story Article Player Head -->   <!-- Google Tag Manager --><br \/>\n <!-- End Google Tag Manager --><\/p>\n<div class=\"container\"> <!--Begin 2018 header--> <\/p>\n<div class=\"row\" id=\"nnenav2018\">\n<div class=\"col-xs-12\">\n<div class=\"col-sm-12 col-lg-6\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gazettenet.com\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/sweeping-cannabis-bill-sails-through-joint-committee-gazettenet.jpg\" id=\"navbarLogo\" alt=\"Daily Hampshire Gazette logo\" class=\"dhgLogo\"><\/a> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <!--end 2018 header --> <!--begin alert --> <!--end alert--> <\/p>\n<div class=\"container\"> <!--begin expander--> <\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-lg-8 col-md-8 col-sm-12 col-xs-12\">\n<div class=\"head-content\">\n<h5 class=\"breadcrumbs\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gazettenet.com\/News\/State-Region\/\">News<span class=\"breadcrumb_sep\"> &gt; <\/span>State-Region<\/a><\/h5>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<div id=\"slider\" class=\"flexslider\">\n<ul class=\"slides\">\n<li class=\"slideimage\" data-src=\"\/getattachment\/02d5e839-5535-4303-afb4-bd563e73f754\/a1masscanna-hg-020222-ph01\" data-sub-html=\"Ryan McCartney trims leaves from maturing cannabis plants about a week before harvesting at the Holistic Industries cannabis cultivation and manufacture facility in Monson, April 16. GAZETTE FILE PHOTO\/KEVIN GUTTING\">&lt;span class=&quot;lightgalleryimg&quot; data-src=&quot;\/getattachment\/02d5e839-5535-4303-afb4-bd563e73f754\/a1masscanna-hg-020222-ph01&quot; data-sub-html=&quot;Ryan McCartney trims leaves from maturing cannabis plants about a week before harvesting at the Holistic Industries cannabis cultivation and manufacture facility in Monson, April 16. GAZETTE FILE PHOTO\/KEVIN GUTTING <span id='buylinkLBa1masscanna-hg-020222,ph01'><\/span>&#8220;&gt;<img decoding=\"async\" alt src=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/sweeping-cannabis-bill-sails-through-joint-committee-gazettenet-1.jpg\"><\/span>\n<p class=\"flex-caption caption0\">\n<span class=\"photocaption\">Ryan McCartney trims leaves from maturing cannabis plants about a week before harvesting at the Holistic Industries cannabis cultivation and manufacture facility in Monson, April 16.<\/span> <span class=\"photocredit\">GAZETTE FILE PHOTO\/KEVIN GUTTING<\/span><span id=\"buylinka1masscanna-hg-020222,ph01\"><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"carousel\" class=\"flexslider\">\n<ul class=\"slides\" id=\"navthumb\">\n<li><img decoding=\"async\" alt src=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/sweeping-cannabis-bill-sails-through-joint-committee-gazettenet-1.jpg\"><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row borderbottom\" id=\"articleInfo\">\n<div class=\"col-xs-12 col-sm-6\">\n<p>State House News Service<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-xs-12 col-sm-6\">\n<p>Published: 2\/1\/2022 8:25:51 PM<\/p>\n<p>Modified: 2\/1\/2022 8:24:21 PM<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"articlebody\">\n<p>BOSTON \u2014 There was no opposition in the Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy to fresh legislation targeting persistent issues with host community agreements and social equity in the new cannabis industry, setting the Legislature up to involve itself in cannabis policy more closely than it has since rewriting voters\u2019 legalization law five years ago.<\/p>\n<p>All 16 members of the committee who weighed in on the legislation (H 174\/S 72) in the poll that closed late last week were in favor of advancing the bill to put tighter restrictions on the legally required contracts between marijuana businesses and their host communities, establish a Cannabis Social Equity Trust Fund and lay the groundwork for cities and towns to allow on-site cannabis consumption establishments. And all 14 committee members who registered an opinion on a bill (S 73) relative to the expungement of convictions for marijuana possession voted to advance it favorably.<\/p>\n<p>The more wide-ranging bill (H 174\/S 72), which a spokesperson said is a priority for House Speaker Ron Mariano, addresses aspects of state laws that cannabis regulators and industry entrepreneurs have been increasingly vocal about taking issue with.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe gap between the law\u2019s stated commitment to equity and the on-the-ground reality of the industry shows just how much work we have left to do,\u201d Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz, co-chair of the Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy, said. \u201cThere\u2019s universal agreement about the problems: high costs of entry and lack of access to capital create a near-impossible barrier for many talented entrepreneurs. This bill addresses both sides of that coin. I\u2019m thrilled we\u2019re finally advancing it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hands-off approach<\/p>\n<p>The Legislature has long maintained a hands-off approach to marijuana policy. Lawmakers passed up their opportunities to act before voters approved decriminalization in 2008, medical marijuana in 2012 and adult legalization in 2016, but then delayed and rewrote significant portions of the 2016 ballot law legalizing marijuana. Otherwise, the Legislature has largely avoided cannabis issues, though some provisions in the new committee bill mirror those of a bill that the House passed in early 2020 but which never surfaced in the Senate.<\/p>\n<p> Massachusetts was the first state in the country to mandate that equity and inclusion be part of its legal cannabis framework and was the first to launch programs specifically designed to assist entrepreneurs and businesses from communities disproportionately harmed by the decades of marijuana prohibition.<\/p>\n<p> But more than three years since the first legal sale here, just 6% of the licenses issued for the cannabis industry have gone to social equity (SE) program participants or economic empowerment (EE) priority applicants, the committee said. Out of more than 1,000 applications submitted to the Cannabis Control Commission as of November, just 232 came from SE or EE applicants.<\/p>\n<p> The committee\u2019s bill would make no-interest loans, forgivable loans and grants available through a Cannabis Social Equity Trust Fund that would be seeded with $10 million and refreshed with 20% of the revenue brought in by the state\u2019s marijuana excise tax. For fiscal year 2021, that 20% share of cannabis excise revenue ($112.37 million) would have worked out to about $22.5 million for the trust fund.<\/p>\n<p> Similar funds have been or are being created in Connecticut, New York, Illinois and Virginia. The committee said that the creation of the trust fund \u201cis responsive to advocacy by the Cannabis Control Commission, whose commissioners voted unanimously to endorse the idea earlier this legislative session.\u201d<\/p>\n<p> In a statement the commission issued minutes after the committee\u2019s poll closed Friday, the agency said it was grateful for the committee\u2019s work and \u201clooks forward to reviewing\u201d the legislation and \u201ccontinuing to collaborate\u201d with the Legislature as it progresses.<\/p>\n<p>Local agreements<\/p>\n<p> The committee\u2019s bill also addresses the other two priority issues the commission highlighted. On the issue of host community agreements (HCAs), the bill authorizes and directs the commission to review HCAs as part of the license application process and to only approve applications after certifying that the HCA is in compliance, would more specifically define what can and cannot be included in the contracts, and would codify a municipality\u2019s right to waive the requirement to have an HCA as a handful have already done.<\/p>\n<p> HCAs have given businesses, prospective businesses and regulators fits basically since the commission began licensing businesses here. Entrepreneurs, lawyers, lobbyists and regulators have pointed to stories about cities and towns demanding more from businesses than the state\u2019s marijuana laws allow, up to 3% of gross sales. The commission began wrestling with the issue in 2018, determined it lacks the authority to intervene or reject an application based on the HCA and voted in January 2019 to formally request that the Legislature give it that authority.<\/p>\n<p> Under the bill, the commision would be directed to implement a \u201csafe harbor period\u201d during which host communities, marijuana establishments and medical marijuana treatment centers \u201cshall renegotiate in good faith any existing host community agreement that is out of compliance with this act.\u201d The bill also instructs the commission to \u201creview all host community agreements that have received their final license and commenced operations as of the effective date of this act and strike any provision of a host community agreement that is not in compliance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p> Cafe licensing<\/p>\n<p>The committee bill appears to address a quirk (the committee referred to it as \u201ctechnical errors\u201d) that has kept so-called cannabis cafes \u2014 establishments where an adult could both purchase and use marijuana \u2014 from becoming a reality in Massachusetts.<\/p>\n<p> More than two years ago, the Cannabis Control Commission approved regulations that paved the way for establishments where adults could use marijuana together in a social setting. But the agency says the pilot program it has designed for up to 12 communities \u201cwould not be able to begin without a change in state law or the passage of legislation that will first allow cities and towns to authorize social consumption in their communities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p> The bill that\u2019s on the move includes language that would create a process by which residents could \u201crequest that the question of whether to allow, in such city or town, the sale of marijuana and marijuana products for consumption on the premises where sold be submitted to the voters of such city or town.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><\/div>\n<p> <!-- Connatix Story Article Player Body --> <!-- End Connatix Story Article Player Body -->\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-teasers nocontent\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-xs-12\" id=\"bottomTeasers\">\n<div class=\"col-xs-12 col-sm-6 homebox-small\">\n<div class=\"col-xs-3\">\n<div class=\"row\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gazettenet.com\/Man-airlifted-to-Springfield-following-Ashfield-accident-44886472\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive center-block\" alt src=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/sweeping-cannabis-bill-sails-through-joint-committee-gazettenet-2.jpg\"> <\/a> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-xs-9\">\n<p> ASHFIELD \u2014 A&nbsp;crash on Norton Hill Road Tuesday night remains under investigation after a man was flown to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield&#8230; <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-xs-12 col-sm-6 homebox-small\">\n<div class=\"col-xs-3\">\n<div class=\"row\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gazettenet.com\/SAP-PleasantGreen-hg-020222-44869066\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive center-block\" alt src=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/sweeping-cannabis-bill-sails-through-joint-committee-gazettenet-3.jpg\"> <\/a> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-xs-9\">\n<p> EASTHAMPTON \u2013 Julia Keay and her kids, Desi and Ruby, 5 and 2 \u00bd, had the snowy playground at Pleasant Green all to themselves on Tuesday.Kevin&#8230; <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-xs-12 col-sm-6 homebox-small\">\n<div class=\"col-xs-3\">\n<div class=\"row\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gazettenet.com\/Caregiver-massage-program-relaunches-in-new-Sunderland-space-44800432\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive center-block\" alt src=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/sweeping-cannabis-bill-sails-through-joint-committee-gazettenet-4.jpg\"> <\/a> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-xs-9\">\n<p> SUNDERLAND \u2014 After the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted The Care Collaborative\u2019s newly launched massage program for in-home health aides, the&#8230; <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-xs-12 col-sm-6 homebox-small\">\n<div class=\"col-xs-3\">\n<div class=\"row\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gazettenet.com\/Hatfield-Old-Mill-44763463\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive center-block\" alt src=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/sweeping-cannabis-bill-sails-through-joint-committee-gazettenet-5.jpg\"> <\/a> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-xs-9\">\n<p> HATFIELD \u2014 At the Old Mill Inn, water flowing over the neighboring dam, even when ice and snow cover the Mill River, is part of the sights and&#8230; <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <!-- Facebook SDK -->  <!--JS and CSS for Lightgallery --><\/p>\n<p>If Javascript is disabled in your browser, to place orders please visit the page where I <a href=\"https:\/\/my.fotomoto.com\/store\/e35d9ad9f3a6e33f77b5ee958c3477a37aca0504\">sell my photos<\/a>, powered by <a href=\"https:\/\/my.fotomoto.com\/\">Fotomoto<\/a>. <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<hr>\n<\/div>\n<p> <!--Begin Footer--> <!--End Footer--> <\/div>\n<p><!-- \/container --> <!-- Begin Nav More Modal --> <!-- End Nav more Modal --><br \/>\n<!-- Tecnavia Paywall Script at End of Page --> <!-- CM DFP Invocation Script--> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- Admiral script updated May 29, 2018, EB --> <!-- End Admiral script --> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sweeping cannabis bill sails through joint committee News &gt; State-Region &lt;span class=&quot;lightgalleryimg&quot; data-src=&quot;\/getattachment\/02d5e839-5535-4303-afb4-bd563e73f754\/a1masscanna-hg-020222-ph01&quot; data-sub-html=&quot;Ryan McCartney trims leaves from maturing cannabis plants about a week before harvesting at the Holistic Industries cannabis cultivation and manufacture facility in Monson, April 16. GAZETTE FILE PHOTO\/KEVIN GUTTING &#8220;&gt; Ryan McCartney trims leaves from maturing cannabis plants about a week before harvesting at the Holistic Industries cannabis cultivation and manufacture facility in Monson, April 16. GAZETTE FILE PHOTO\/KEVIN GUTTING State House News Service Published: 2\/1\/2022 8:25:51 PM Modified: 2\/1\/2022 8:24:21 PM BOSTON \u2014 There was no opposition in the Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy to&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4030,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/sweeping-cannabis-bill-sails-through-joint-committee-gazettenet.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4029","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=4029"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4029\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}