Lounges
STORY BY STAASI HEROPOULOS ILLUSTRATION ISTOCK
Cannabis
W
hen Massachusetts voters said yes to Question 4 in 2016, they gave the nod to legalizing cannabis in the Bay State. Since then, laws and regulations have made it possible for people at least 21 years old to possess, use, distribute and cultivate marijuana within certain restrictions and guidelines. The first two cannabis dispensaries, or stores opened on November 20, 2018 in Northampton and Leicester. Today there are some 200 dispensaries across the state. Now that they have taken root, there is a call for cannabis cafes and social clubs, where people could buy and consume cannabis. 26
CANNABISREVIEWQUARTERLY.COM
So far laws on the books have prevented those stores from opening, and even if they did, regulations set by the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) would make it virtually impossible for those cafes to turn a profit. Mike Brais is the founder of the Massachusetts Social Consumption Advancement Coalition. He told Cannabis Review Quarterly (CRQ) legal and regulatory roadblocks have been put in place by design. “They’re atrocious. They create an unprofitable business model that a cynic would look at as designed to fail,” he says. Backers of the pro pot legislation
hoped, even intended, for legislation to legalize cannabis cafes. But Secretary of State Bill Galvin ruled while the law allows communities to reject cannabis cafes, there is no legal way to open them. Galvin says communities could opt-out or ban cannabis cafes, but they couldn’t opt-in and allow them in their cities or towns. “Question 4 legalized cannabis but did not call out cannabis cafes specifically. There was no mention of them in the ballot initiative but in verbal discussions they were referenced as a future license type. The CCC announced at some point, there would be social consumption,” says Brais.
