Newton marijuana store seeks end to appointment-only rule, as nearby competition grows
By John Hilliard Globe Staff,Updated February 17, 2021, 5:05 p.m.
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Customers picked up orders at Garden Remedies in Newton late last month.Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
Newtonâs only recreational marijuana store is seeking to end a restriction limiting sales only to customers with appointments, as more cannabis businesses line up to open in the city.
Garden Remedies wants to be more competitive with stores in other nearby communities, chief operating officer Jeff Herold said in an interview.
âAs far as we know, Newton is really the only location that has a stringent kind of appointment rule,â Herold said. âAnd we definitely feel like it hurts our overall business.â
Facing an exodus of its members, the Commonwealth Dispensary Association is withdrawing its lawsuit against recently approved recreational marijuana delivery rules in Massachusetts.
The license which would effectively allow standalone marijuana delivery businesses with their own warehouses was part of the CCC’s ongoing, if fledgling, efforts to increase the number of local and minority-owned operators in the industry. The CCC also decided to make the delivery license, as well as a courier-style license, available only to applicants in their social equity programs for a minimum of three years meaning that almost all of the state’s existing dispensaries would be locked out from the delivery game until at least 2024.
More Massachusetts cannabis dispensaries leave Commonwealth Dispensary Association, citing support of equity following lawsuit on delivery
Updated Mar 03, 2021;
Fallout from a lawsuit filed by the Commonwealth Dispensary Association against the Cannabis Control Commission over new delivery regulations has continued this weekend, with more dispensaries announcing an end to their membership.
The CDA sued the CCC, arguing that newly promulgated regulations that introduce a marijuana operator license violate the commission’s statute, G.L. c. 94G.
The operator license allows for the wholesale purchase of cannabis to be warehoused and then sold and delivered. There’s also a courier license, allowing applicants to partner with retailers to deliver directly to consumers. Couriers can charge fees but cannot sell, process, store or repackage goods.
NETA, Garden Remedies end membership with Commonwealth Dispensary Association days after group files lawsuit over cannabis delivery regulations
Updated Mar 03, 2021;
Two Massachusetts dispensaries have announced they are ending membership with the Commonwealth Dispensary Association, a decision that comes days after the CDA filed a lawsuit that has been viewed by some as an “attack on equity” in the state’s cannabis industry.
Garden Remedies announced its decision on Saturday morning. NETA made its decision to leave the CDA on Friday. Both cited a commitment to supporting equity in Massachusetts, as the state prepares to start home delivery of cannabis, an opportunity that will only be available to equity applicants for three years.