Friday January 22 2021
In todays report
click here for the link to the video on youtube
BREAKING NEWS; per Dan Adams at The Boston Globe, NETA (the state's largest operator) has quit the Commonwealth Dispensary Association in protest of the group's lawsuit attacking the equity-delivery operator model;
"JUST IN: New England Treatment Access (NETA), the largest marijuana operator in Massachusetts, is pulling out of the #Commonwealth Dispensary Association in protest of the industry group's lawsuit seeking to block new delivery regulations that favor equity applications.
We won’t be party to things that directly conflict with our business goals and values, and that’s what this lawsuit is doing," Kim Napoli, the Director of Corporate Social Responsibility and Community Affairs at NETA parent company Parallel, told me just now.
"We pulled out of the #CDA based on our belief in and support of social equity and economic empowerment," she added. "Those communities sorely need support from operators like us."
https://twitter.com/Dan_Adams86/status/1352754127957323776?fbclid=IwAR1g5Th1Ytbwc9FOCAbbihKkf3kB-GKIrYm_hBVQiIE1pPzpaqLjgLFzndc
- Dan_Adams86
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MCAD’s Response to CDA Lawsuit to Prevent an #Equitable Cannabis Industry
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Beyond the legal issues, MCAD recognizes this suit as an attempt by the CDA, on behalf of its members, to maintain an industry with high barriers to entry, limit competition, and to minimize the #viability of minority applicants.
“We’re disappointed to see the actions of the CDA. This is the opposite of supporting an inclusive industry. The CDA should withdraw their suit immediately and not divert limited CCC resources to defending a lawsuit that’s going nowhere. Instead, the public deserves to have the CCC continue to focus on their important oversight and regulation of this growing industry,” MCAD President, Chris Fevry stated.
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My latest on today's CCC hearing (made available early on Patreon);
The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission held its first meeting of the year and quickly began the process of introducing three new Commissioners. At the same time, Commissioners also went about implementing updated regulations that had been passed last fall related to the expansion of adult use delivery (with an emphasis on license ownership by equity applicants) and the expansion of the patient per pro bono caregiver grow ratio (now 5 patients per caregiver instead of the single patient allowed under previous regulations).
As the meeting began, three new Commissioners were introduced; Nurys Camargo, taking up the CCC's social justice seat from long time grassroots advocate Shaleen Title, is a regional AT&T executive who, according to the Boston Globe, "previously directed the youth violence prevention programs under the administration of former Governor Deval Patrick and founded a nonprofit to mentor Latinas".
Joining Commissioner Camargo will be Bruce Stebbins, who will take up the seat vacated last summer by former Commissioner Kay Doyle. Commissioner Stebbins is a long time Republican political operative, with a career dating to the early 1990s under George H.W. Bush.
A third new Commissioner (Ava Conception), with a history of legislative work in the office of Sen. William Brownberger and the office of Suffolk Country District Attorney Rachel Rollins, did not take part in the meeting (choosing instead to observe) having only taken her oath of office 24 hours prior. She is taking up the seat vacated by Commissioner Britte McBride, who left the agency, alongside Commissioner Title, on December 31st of 2020.
As the meeting unfolded, the Commission quickly picked up its rapid pace of license approvals that began in the summer of 2020 before announcing the planned timeline for the implementation of the updated delivery license framework (including the hugely popular delivery operator license).
Commission Executive Director Shawn Collins said the total time needed to roll out the updated regulations would be between 6-8 months, but also noted that a piecemeal approach was possible (thus allowing certain elements of the regulatory update, such as expanded delivery license offerings and the expanded patient per caregiver ratio, to be expedited).
Speaking after the meeting, Chairman Steven Hoffman made clear his priority is ensuring that framework for the new equity delivery application comes about as soon as possible (while noting courier delivery licenses are already available);
"I think [delivery operator licenses] are going to be on the front-end [of the regulatory timeline]...and I am hoping it will only be a few months." The Chairman continued, "There's no technology changes involved there, its just ensuring we have a updated application and an appropriate process for reviewing those applications so that will be, I would say, in a few months."
The Chairman also noted that the Commission will be working closely with local cities and towns through a "total communications plan" to "make sure the municipalities are on board and understand the process [related to delivery]".
Mr. Hoffman continued; "I thought that as we were debating and deciding on delivery there was a lot of misinformation going out (and I am not blaming or pointing fingers at anybody)...including some issues where I think the municipalities reacted to that misinformation. So I think it is incredibly important that, not only that we update guidance [going out to those cities and towns], but that we actually have a much more proactive outreach and interaction with municipalities to disabuse some of the notions that were floating around over the past couple months."
With those comments, it is clear the Commission will be putting a focus on the creation of the application process for the delivery operator license (and it will certainly be interesting to see if that aggressive timeline will be met).
Before adjourning the meeting, the Commission also engaged in an in-depth discussion regarding the 2021 yearly goals for the Executive Director, with Commissioner Jennifer Flanagan insisting that it would be proper (and necessary) to remove social equity goals from the Executive Directors yearly list for the time being.
This suggestion was met with push-back by other Commissioners, including Chairman Hoffman and newly appointed Commissioner Bruce Stebbins, who felt it important to at least have the Executive Director begin the process of developing social equity goals (even if that process is not fully completed within the next year).
Chairman Hoffman, speaking on the importance of those equity goals for the Executive Director after the meeting, said, "I believe in the Hawthorne Effect and what the Hawthorne Effect says is that if you shine a light on something stuff happens, but if you don't shine a light on something it might not happen."
Continuing, the Chairman said; "I think its overdue for us to have a really thoughtful and detailed discussion about the social equity program and how we're going to measure our success (and how we're doing versus those measures) and use it as an ongoing tool to have that dialog and continue to adjust as appropriate to get to where we want to and I don't think we've done that."
That situation, the Chairman explained, made it very difficult for the Commission to determine if it was properly funding its equity program and thus the creation of those metrics, through a process run by the Executive Director, is "incredibly important and overdue".
The Commission agreed to reconsider the Executive Director's equity goals at their February meeting, currently scheduled for the 11th at 10:00AM.
My full video coverage of today's CCC hearing can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=253333166229255
This content was published first for those who are kind enough to support my work on Patreon. Your generous contributions allow me to bring this information to the public for free and that means the world to me.
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high times coverage
However, not everyone is celebrating. The lawsuit, filed January 13, claims that not allowing cannabis retailers who already have a license to deliver violates existing law that claims cannabis retailers will be permitted to deliver their products.
According to a statute found in chapter 94G section 1 of the law, a cannabis retailer is “an entity licensed to purchase and deliver marijuana and marijuana products from marijuana establishments and to deliver, sell or otherwise transfer marijuana and marijuana products to marijuana establishments and to consumers.”
Additionally, those suing over the law claim that the commission didn’t have the right to enact new regulations because the commission that did so only had four members, as one had resigned.
“Simply, the CCC overstepped its authority and disregarded state law, radically upending the established rules that hundreds of small businesses and their host communities operated in accordance with since 2016,” the association said in a statement.
Kiki
https://hightimes.com/news/massachusetts/massachusetts-dispensaries-sue-over-home-delivery-rules/
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mass live
“MCAD calls on the CDA to drop this suit and to cease enabling industry players who aim to use their capital advantage to exploit and exclude social equity applicants, and prevent the CCC from fulfilling the social justice component of the ballot initiative which the residents of the Commonwealth passed in 2016,” read a statement from the group.
Pure Oasis had been a member of the CDA. Evans said the company left the association in late October.
“Talking to other equity applicants, and they were looking for guidance, and they wanted support around the CCC to make sure that voices were being heard,” Evans said, “it was just a matter of not having a lot of time to be an activist and realizing that our time needed to be spent supporting delivery.”
Evans said it was disheartening to hear about the lawsuit.
“We live in a world where there’s room for everyone,” he said. “There’s room for equity applicants, big businesses and local entrepreneurs and there’s enough to go around.”
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The regulations, approved by the Cannabis Control Commission in November, created two different license types for recreational cannabis delivery. One allows delivery companies to purchase product wholesale and to warehouse the product. A second license type offers a courier model that allows individuals to partner with recreational marijuana shops to deliver recreational marijuana, known as a marijuana courier license.
The exclusivity provisions were widely lauded by advocates, who said it’s essential that disenfranchised applicants be given a first crack at the licenses to overcome other barriers small, often minority, businesses face. While the current licensing program was set up to give participants in the equity programs faster review of applications, only 53 of the 986 completed licenses submitted as of Jan. 14 were from participants in the economic empowerment program, which is limited to those certified as being disproportionately harmed by the war on drugs. Another 76 applications were from social equity participants, or groups in the commission’s training program for people disproportionately harmed by the war on drugs.
But in a lawsuit filed Jan. 13 in Suffolk Superior Court, the Commonwealth Dispensary Association said that not allowing marijuana retailers to deliver marijuana under their existing retail licenses violates a statute which says marijuana retailers shall be permitted to deliver their products. The statute, chapter 94G section 1, defines a marijuana retailer as “an entity licensed to purchase and deliver marijuana and marijuana products from marijuana establishments and to deliver, sell or otherwise transfer marijuana and marijuana products to marijuana establishments and to consumers.”
Federal Agency Says USDA’s Final Hemp Rule Is Positive Step, But Concerns Remain
In the two years since hemp was federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill, USDA solicited feedback from stakeholders and developed interim rules that were ultimately finalized this month and take effect on March 22. SBA was one of those interested parties that submitted comments to the agency to improve regulations for small businesses.
The agency’s Office of Advocacy said in a blog post on Tuesday that it is “pleased with some of the changes that [USDA] has made to the rule, as they offer more certainty and are less burdensome to small farmers.”
Those changes include extending the testing window for hemp from 15 to 30 days, postponing until 2022 the requirement that only Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)-certified labs can conduct such testing and allowing for more flexible disposal and remediation practices.
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Hemp provides American Indian tribes with new economic opportunities, commercial partnerships
Companies navigate tribal relations
Cultural barriers and a lack of communication can complicate partnerships between tribes and corporations, according to Tim Houseberg, a Cherokee Nation citizen and co-founder and vice president of the Native Health Matters Foundation in Oklahoma.
“Unfortunately, half of the thing about dealing with Indian tribes is the culture … which means great deals are lost all the time because the business men didn’t know the culture,” Houseberg said.
“It also means bad deals are done all the time because of the culture of corruption in Indian tribes.”
And not all companies looking to do business with American Indian tribes have the tribes’ best interests at heart, causing lost money and assets, and sullying tribal nations’ appetites for working with outside commercial entities.