Cannabis cultivators in Massachusetts are considering a lawsuit to make the state’s Cannabis Control Commission review the statutorily-required agreements between cannabis businesses and the towns where they exist, according to the State House News Service.
In order to operate in any jurisdiction, a cannabis company must enter a host community agreement with that host town and/or city. The Commission has maintained that it does not have the authority to review the agreements, but cannabis companies are worried that municipalities will take advantage of the situation to extract more money via taxes and other fees than allowed under state law (local governments can only legally take up to three percent of a cannabis business’ gross sales).
“We just want them to review these going forward and strike down offending contractual clauses going backwards.” — Peter Bernard, president of the Massachusetts Grower Advocacy Council, via the State House News Service
Bernard said that his group was meeting with its lawyer on Wednesday to discuss options and that they were leaning towards taking the issue to court.
The Commission had hoped to launch the state’s adult-use cannabis industry by July 1, but that goal fell through and the Commission has yet to give an updated timeline for when consumers can expect to be able to purchase cannabis products.
Some advocates and entrepreneurs argue that the delay has been in part caused by the Commission’s attempts to reconcile the host community agreements.