Massachusetts is one step closer to legal marijuana use at events and in social settings across the state, as it begins accepting written public comments to allow people to weigh in on regulations that have been months in the making.
The Cannabis Control Commission voted 3-0 Thursday to publish a memo on its website by Aug. 20 detailing the public comment period, though the CCC has already begun receiving comments. The Secretary of State's website will post the regulations publicly on Friday. The CCC also scheduled an in-person hearing on the proposed rules for Sept. 8 at its Worcester office.
CCC Acting Chair Bruce Stebbins said they plan to review the public comments and regulations at the end of September. The schedule moves the agency toward considering making the sites legal almost a decade after social consumption of cannabis was first contemplated in the 2016 ballot law that legalized non-medical marijuana.
Supporters of social consumption say adults should be allowed to purchase a marijuana product and use it in the same location, like buying alcohol at a bar or a cigar at a cigar bar. Allowing on-site consumption would provide legal locations for marijuana consumption to tourists staying in hotels and renters who are prohibited from smoking in their apartments. Officials have also said the sites could give parents a place to smoke or consume cannabis without ever bringing it around their children.
Read more at Lowell Sun
