On July 1, businesses with the proper licenses can officially start selling recreational marijuana to anyone 21 years or older in Massachusetts. But the sale and use of marijuana carries a lot of restrictions, as well as resistance, depending on what part of the state you live in.
To break down the various complexities packed into the recreational marijuana law, Morning Edition sat down with WGBH's Daniel Medwed to flesh out a specific component each week leading up to the official opening of the recreational industry. This week, Medwed explains why the regulatory process and the timeline of issuing licenses has already delayed the opening of a potentially robust and lucrative marijuana market in Massachusetts.
The transcript is below. To hear the full conversation, click the link above:
Joe Mathieu: This is WGBH’s Morning Edition.
Recreational marijuana stores, as we've told you, will be allowed to open in Massachusetts as soon as July 1 nearly two years after voters endorsed a ballot initiative that would legalize recreational pot for people over the age of 21. Joining us for the first of several discussions about the implications of the marijuana rollout is Northeastern law professor and WGBH legal analyst Daniel Medwed. We're going deep in the weeds this month with Daniel with everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask. Good morning sir and welcome.
Daniel Medwed: Good morning.
JM: We have a lot to cover here. Let's start with a general overview and then in future weeks we'll take a closer look at specific issues. First of all Daniel, what should we expect to happen on July 1?
DM: Here's what we shouldn't expect, that all of a sudden Boston will transform into the North American version of Amsterdam with pot shops on every corner.
JM: So Kevin from that TV ad is going to be very disappointed.
DM: I think that's right. July 1 is simply opening day for retail marijuana shops but it's unclear whether any of them or many of them will be operational. The Cannabis Control Commission, which is the regulatory body that oversees this area, began accepting applications for retail licenses on April 1. It has a 90-day window in which to rule on them. Nearly 200 entities applied in those first few days.
So it remains to be seen whether any or many at all will get through that process before the end of June and then will be able to set up a brick and mortar operation in July.
So I think it's going to be delayed.
JM: We got the timing issue obviously and we've talked about this. What about some of the other reasons why we might not see many pot shops open over the summer? Is this a legal issue or are these just practical problems?
DM: I think both. In terms of practical issues, the biggest barrier is the lack of supply. It takes four to six months to grow marijuana and cultivation licenses are only forthcoming this month apparently. So there's going to be a lag time. That means that the only businesses that are positioned in terms of having existing stock to be operational this summer are medical marijuana dispensaries. I think there are 24 of them right now and some of them have sought retail licenses. So if some of those retail licenses come through they might be able to get up and running over the summer.
Otherwise we're thinking much later on in 2018 in terms of legal hurdles. More than half of the cities and towns in Massachusetts have implemented bans, moratoriums banning pot shops from within their borders. What's more, even in communities that haven't instituted these bans they have the right to set up a number of local permitting and zoning ordinances that might have the practical effect of serving as barriers to entry. So it's really a combination of practical and legal hurdles.
JM: That's a lot of hurdles to put them all together assuming someone does get through them and there are places to buy marijuana on the first of July. Legally speaking where can people actually consume it? Where can you smoke this or otherwise use it?
DM: In terms of private consumption, you can consume marijuana in your home or in the private home of somebody else. Public consumption is a lot trickier. While you are allowed, or will be allowed, to possess up to an ounce of marijuana in public, you can’t consume it in public if you light up a joint on the sidewalk. You could get a $100 ticket.
What's more, landlords may forbid renters from smoking marijuana on the premises just as they can forbid the use of tobacco products, but notably they can't ban the use of edible marijuana or tinctures or ointments or things like that.
JM: The idea of social clubs or cafes was wiped off right when Gov. Baker didn't want that to be in the regulations so that won't be happening?
DM: At least temporarily. Notably, the Cannabis Control Commission has said they we're going to wait until February 2019 to revisit this.
JM: So it's still quite possible that we could have cannabis cafes and the idea of Boston as Amsterdam — to come back to where we started — is possible and would not be so farfetched in that case?
DM: I think that's right. It's possible.
JM: It'll be fascinating to see how this plays out. And we're going to be talking about this as I mentioned in the weeds each week through the course of June as we prepare for the rollout in July. With WGBH News legal analyst Northeastern law professor Daniel Medwed, thanks for the insights Daniel.
DM: My pleasure Joe.
