Add Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey to the list of top state officials who are telling marijuana regulators to hold off on moving beyond licensing retail pot shops.
Healey also warned that one proposed rule could be interpreted to allow someone to buy up to $3,000 worth of the controversial substance.
The drumbeat of testimony on draft state rules on marijuana licenses continued Thursday, with Healey joining Gov. Charlie Baker, local prosecutors and Baker administration officials in flashing stop signs on home delivery and sales of marijuana in cafes, yoga studios and movie theaters.
“While there may be a time to consider the introduction of social consumption marijuana establishments, mixed-use social consumption establishments, and delivery-only retail sales, we believe it should not be in the initial months of implementation,” Healey said in her letter to the Cannabis Control Commission, the independent state agency weighing the rules.
Earlier on Thursday, marijuana advocates launched a counter-attack, saying the governor and others who opposed legalization are using “scare tactics” in an effort to exert pressure on the commission.
“This is an overt pressure campaign on the Cannabis Control Commission and I think it’s a political move as well, it’s a campaign year, and I think the governor and his people are looking at this as a way to dominate the news cycle,” said Jim Borghesani, who served as the spokesman for the 2016 state ballot question on marijuana.
“I’ve been around long enough to spot an orchestrated political campaign when I see it, and this is one of them,” he added.
Advocates say delaying the proposed expansive rules would warp the new industry in Massachusetts, shutting out small businesses and people who don’t have enough money to fund a retail marijuana operation.
Healey’s letter to the commission raised concerns about home delivery of marijuana – meaning the sale of marijuana that isn’t specifically tied to a brick-and-mortar store.
“As a matter of enforcement, it is more difficult to ensure that employees are abiding by the rules and properly verifying the age of the consumer when transactions are scattered on doorsteps across the state, rather than at an identifiable retail establishment with security cameras and other checks in place,” Healey wrote.
One rule as drafted “could be read to suggest that an individual consumer could purchase up to $3,000 worth of marijuana – an amount that far exceeds the one-ounce limitation that applies to other retail outlets,” she added.
Noting that legal marijuana tends to operate as a cash business because banks are leery of accepting deposits based on sales, Healey said that means people delivering marijuana would become an “attractive target” for criminals.
“This increases the risk to employees, consumers, first responders, and others who simply happen to be in the area,” she said.
credit:masslive.com
