State regulators are preparing to put one of the most significant roadblocks to the rollout of the non-medical marijuana industry in the rearview mirror later this month.
The Cannabis Control Commission could license the first independent testing laboratory at its next meeting, the agency’s executive director said Thursday, an approval that could clear the way for already licensed marijuana retailers to begin selling to non-medical patients.
The CCC has 95 completed applications awaiting its review, Executive Director Shawn Collins said Thursday, including applications from two independent testing labs. Collins said he is “relatively confident” the commission will be asked to consider at least one of those applications when it meets next, in two weeks.
“We’re actively engaged with each application. If additional information is necessary or if clarification may be necessary, we will engage in that conversation with the applicants. That’s kind of where they stand as of now,” Collins said.
The CCC previously agreed to expedite its review of testing lab applications because all non-medical marijuana sold in Massachusetts must first be tested and approved by a lab. The CCC has given provisional licenses to a handful of retail stores, but those licensees cannot sell anything until it has been tested and approved.
Of the 95 completed applications submitted to the CCC, Collins said 20 have not yet been reviewed by the CCC staff, 38 were reviewed and determined to be incomplete, 18 have been sent out for background checks and cross-checks with the host municipality, seven were on the CCC’s agenda for consideration Thursday and the CCC had already acted on 12 applications before Thursday’s meeting.
The CCC had hoped to launch legal non-medical marijuana sales by July 1 but has since refused to put a timeline on the rollout of an industry that voters approved at the ballot in 2016. It has been legal for adults 21 or older to grow and consume marijuana since December 2016.
On Thursday, the CCC unanimously approved seven more license applications, bringing its total number of provisional licenses issued to 19. The CCC also discussed the 36 responses it received in response to a draft guidance document it issued two weeks ago related to the agreements marijuana businesses are required to enter into with their host municipalities.
State law calls for communities to enter into host community agreements with marijuana licensees and stipulates that those agreements cannot run for more than five years and that the community impact fee paid to the municipality by the licensee cannot exceed 3 percent of the establishment’s gross sales.