Boston News Today - KNOW THE REGS: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW WITH JUST UNDER A MONTH TO GO

Everything you need to know with just under a month to go

The funny thing about writing these regulatory columns, which are a collective effort between those of us who cover cannabis at DigBoston as well as people in our network, is that for every reader who pays close attention, there are five who contact us on social media to ask us questions that we already answered.

Nevertheless, we’re still at it, this time with a green-hot update on the applications in the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) pipeline (you’ll have to read to the end to see if Mass will really have full retail operations up and running by July 1).

In the meantime, all application types have been available since June 1. As of June 5, there were 1,002 total applications filed with the CCC, with 833 incomplete (meaning they have yet to finish any one of the four sections), 61 withdrawn, and 108 pending, which means they’ve submitted at least one of the four required packets (App of Intent, Background, Management/Ops, Payment). Of those 108, the breakdown between types is as follows:

Craft Marijuana Cooperative: 1
Marijuana Cultivator: 30
Marijuana Establishment Agent: 22
Marijuana Microbusiness: 7
Marijuana Product Manufacturer: 14
Marijuana Research Facility: 3
Marijuana Retailer: 30
Marijuana Transporter w/ Other Existing ME License: 1

As for those who dutifully submitted all four required packets, and who will now have their applications reviewed “for completeness” by commissioners as early as this week, the breakdown is as follows:

Craft Marijuana Cooperative: 0
Marijuana Cultivator: 18
Marijuana Microbusiness: 2
Marijuana Product Manufacturer: 12
Marijuana Research Facility: 3
Marijuana Retailer: 15
Marijuana Transporter w/ Other Existing ME License: 1

That lot of 51 applicants represents 28 different entities, all of which must now have background checks (the deadline to apply to be an investigator for the CCC is June 15). Also, 38 of those 51 have priority status, which breaks down to 35 registered medical dispensaries and 3 empowerment applicants. Geographically speaking, the 51 frontrunners come from the following counties: Berkshire: 1, Franklin: 4, Hampshire: 2, Hampden: 3, Worcester: 16, Essex: 3, Middlesex: 5, Norfolk: 5, Bristol: 5, Suffolk: 2, Plymouth: 5, Barnstable: 0, Dukes: 0.

As for how fast this is all moving along, according to CCC Executive Director Shawn Collins at Tuesday’s public commission meeting, “We are waiting on information back from municipalities and our background check vendor. That information does need to be verified to make sure everything submitted to the commission has been reviewed for completeness and thoroughness and sufficiency as it pertains to the regulations. If the background check process does come back substantive enough that there is a comfort level to recommend someone for licensure and that the municipality has in fact certified that there is a host agreement and that [the applicant] has complied with all other local and zoning bylaws … if all of those things come back, in the next few weeks we could have some applicants to recommend for provisional licensure.”

Until then, the commission is “developing templates that can be used for responding to applicants,” and members say they will identify what information is missing and encourage people to complete applications.

Those notices may go out as early as this week.