Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
Cheryl Bartlett
Acting Commissioner
Department of Public Health
Dear Commissioner Bartlett,
On behalf of the cities and towns of the Commonwealth, the Massachusetts Municipal Association appreciates the opportunity to offer testimony on a draft amendment to 801 CMR 4.02(105), proposing a fee structure to support the Department of Public Health’s operational costs to implement An Act for the Humanitarian Medical Use of Marijuana. The impact of the implementation of the medical marijuana law in cities in towns will be significant and long-lasting, and we appreciate the careful and reasoned approach that the Department has undertaken to craft programmatic regulations to protect our communities.
The proposed fee structure to implement the law must allow the Department to fully meet the costs required to create and sustain a robust and responsive unit of professional staff to execute all required programmatic, monitoring and enforcement activities necessary to effectively run the new statewide medical marijuana program. The medical marijuana law requires the creation of a program that is by its nature novel and complex, and significant oversight will be necessary to ensure optimal functionality. The fees generated through the application and registration process must cover the costs associated with the necessary level of oversight and coordination.
The draft amendment would require that applicants to operate a registered marijuana dispensary remit a fee of $1,500 upon submission of a Phase 1 application, and a fee of $30,000 upon submission of a Phase 2 application. Successful applicants would pay an annual fee of $50,000 and an annual fee of $500 for each dispensary agent registration. Each hardship cultivation registration granted to individuals unable to access a registered marijuana dispensary would carry a fee of $100. As you review and set these fees, we respectfully ask you ensure that the total amount raised will provide all of the resources necessary to implement the law.
The obvious goal of any new fee structure should be to fully cover the costs associated with the oversight of the medical marijuana program in Massachusetts, as indicated by the ballot initiative’s mandate that the law be revenue-neutral. The law authorizes up to 35 registered marijuana dispensaries statewide, with at minimum one per county and up to five per county in the first year of the program. The impacts associated with the new medical marijuana law will be experienced directly at the local level in our cities and towns, and it is crucial that the Department create a staff structure that allows for close attention to the day-to-day operations of registered marijuana dispensaries and for close collaboration with local authorities. State application and registration fees must generate revenue sufficient to meet all costs associated with this high level of operation within the Department.
As you design the fee structure, we also ask you to embrace an operational structure that will enable and facilitate clear communication between the Department and those municipalities hosting medical marijuana treatment centers, cultivation sites, or residents possessing home-growth hardship registrations. Thus, we urge you to establish the position of Ombudsman, a position specifically charged to serve as a liaison with municipalities on medical marijuana issues. The creation of this designated position would facilitate the close collaborative relationships that will be necessary between the Department and municipalities to ensure the successful and safe implementation of the law. The Ombudsman position should exist within a larger designated Enforcement Unit housed within the Department, similar to the units that have been created in other states that have legalized medical marijuana. The Enforcement Unit should maintain a toll-free number through which concerns about unlawful or inappropriate activity related to medical marijuana may be reported. The Department should establish a fee structure that will fund the costs associated with the implementation of the law, including the office of an Ombudsman, the Enforcement Unit, and all other operational needs.
Once again, thank you for the opportunity to provide input on the new fee structure. We deeply appreciate the thorough, cautious and transparent approach that the Department has undertaken to ensure that the Commonwealth’s medical marijuana program operates with the highest of standards, and we support the implementation of a fee structure that will allow the Department to meet that objective. If you have any questions, or wish to receive further comments from us, please do not hesitate to contact Catherine Rollins of the MMA staff at (617) 426-7272 at any time.
Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
Geoffrey C. Beckwith
Executive Director, MMA