Final CCC marijuana regulations published

The Secretary of the Commonwealth on Oct. 27 published the Cannabis Control Commission’s final updated regulations governing adult and medical use of marijuana, the final step in enacting the new regulations.

The CCC had voted, 3-1, on Sept. 22 to approve the extensive revisions to the state regulations, which are now scheduled to go into effect on March 1, 2024.

A comprehensive cannabis law enacted last August, Chapter 180 of the Acts of 2022, gave the CCC until Nov. 7 to promulgate the new regulations.

The changes broaden the CCC’s authority over host community agreements and apply retroactively to existing host community agreements. The regulations will allow the CCC to review new and existing host community agreements for compliance.

The new regulations also create significant new requirements for municipalities to address equity in the industry, through a number of provisions aimed at attracting and aiding social equity businesses. There are also new requirements around community impact fees, including reporting requirements that the MMA has asserted are overly burdensome and stringent.

The MMA had strongly advocated for the regulations to take a two-tiered approach: allowing existing host community agreements to continue until their expiration, while applying any new regulations to agreements executed after the final regulations are in place.

More than 1,000 host community agreements are currently in effect.