“It’s about making sure that there’s actually a pathway for people who have been on the illicit market to actually get to be part of the real market," Shanel Lindsay said.
“It’s about making sure that there’s actually a pathway for people who have been on the illicit market to actually get to be part of the real market," Shanel Lindsay said.
Lawmakers again weigh reforms to local marijuana agreements
By Dan Adams Globe Staff,Updated May 11, 2021, 7:44 p.m.
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State Senator Patricia D. Jehlen of Somerville at a hearing of the Legislature s Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy in 2018.Pat Greenhouse
Massachusetts lawmakers on Tuesday took blistering testimony from attorneys, entrepreneurs, and advocates who slammed the stateâs local approval process for marijuana companies as little more than a form of legal extortion â one they said has allowed municipalities to collect and spend millions of dollars in unjustified fees without accountability or transparency.
The virtual hearing by the Legislatureâs Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy centered on a handful of proposed bills that would reform how prospective cannabis operators and local officials negotiate so-called âhost community agreements.â
BOSTON Advocates, lawmakers and former regulators urged a legislative committee on Tuesday to provide more oversight of required contracts between municipalities and marijuana businesses, arguing that the system continues to be exploited by some cities and towns, which creates a barrier for small and minority owned businesses to get started in the industry.
The issue of host community agreements has been one fraught with tension as people in the industry have argued for years that negotiations are often one-sided, with the municipalities controlling all the leverage.
The result, according to testimony given to the Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy, are agreements that often violate the limits put on how much cities and towns can charge marijuana businesses for traffic, public safety and other impacts they have on a community.
By Matt Murphy, State House News Service |
4 hours ago
A security guard sits in front of Stem, 124 Washington St., Haverhill. (WHAV News file photograph.)
Advocates, lawmakers and former regulators urged a legislative committee on Tuesday to provide more oversight of required contracts between municipalities and marijuana businesses, arguing that the system continues to be exploited by some cities and towns, which creates a barrier for small and minority owned businesses to get started in the industry.
A suit against the City of Haverhill, filed by downtown marijuana retailer Stem and its president, Caroline Pineau, played prominently before the Committee.
The issue of host community agreements has been one fraught with tension as people in the industry have argued for years that negotiations are often “one-sided,” with communities controlling all the leverage.