Marijuana - The Boston Globe

A law said pot taxes should help communities harmed by the war on drugs. That hasn’t happened

A year and a half into the state’s recreational cannabis rollout, none of the $67 million in excise taxes and fees left over after paying for the cost of regulators has gone to help those intended, a Globe data analysis has found.

CCC can review companies involved in Fall River mayor’s bribery scandal, judge rules

The Cannabis Control Commission will be given secret information about five marijuana companies involved in a federal bribery case against the former Fall River mayor, a federal judge has ruled.

Marijuana giant Acreage concedes Mass. contracts are ‘inoperable’

Cannabis Control Commission investigators are warning the company over its deals with smaller operators, saying they appear to put Acreage in control and could violate state law.

Boston pot shop receives final license; opening could be just weeks away

Cannabis regulators awarded a final license to a Grove Hall dispensary that could become Boston’s first recreational marijuana store.

House passes bill to crack down on municipal marijuana agreements

The legislation answers years of complaints by applicants and advocates that cities and towns routinely gouge would-be cannabis operators.

across the country

New Mexico bid for recreational marijuana all but doomed
The effort to legalize recreational marijuana in New Mexico is all but doomed for this year after a proposal to do so was rejected by a key Senate committee.

Los Angeles uses tech to wipe out 66,000 old pot convictions

Los Angeles County prosecutors are using technology to wipe out or reduce as many as 66,000 old marijuana convictions.

Baker’s anti-stoned driving bill is dead — but marijuana cafés and employee protections move ahead in Legislature

Democrats on the Legislature's cannabis policy committee are charting a progressive course.

Mike Bloomberg attacks marijuana legalization in controversial resurfaced recording

Asked by an audience member about his thoughts on Colorado’s decision to end marijuana prohibition, Bloomberg said, “I think it is just a terrible, terrible idea.”

Police investigating break-in at Worcester pot shop; no arrests made yet
Two people broke into Worcester’s first recreational marijuana shop early Sunday, damaging the front door and the ATM, but taking no marijuana, police said.

Republican lawmaker says Congress will ignore Trump’s push to end medical marijuana protections

Congress will ignore President Trump’s budget request to end a policy protecting medical marijuana states from federal interference, a Republican lawmaker said Tuesday.

Trump budget proposes ending state medical marijuana protections

Amesbury pot shop can open as early as this weekend
An Amesbury recreational marijuana shop can open as early as this weekend after cannabis regulators gave it the necessary sign-off Tuesday.

Here’s what to know about Massachusetts’ 3 newest pot shops

Maine might block marijuana trade info from public records

New Hampshire Senate approves bill to let medical marijuana patients grow their own plants

‘My life came crashing down overnight’: How one Boston-area woman nearly died from vaping

A 33-year-old veterinary technician thought she could trust her dealer’s legitimate-looking vapes to help her relax and treat her migraines. Instead, she ended up hospitalized for two weeks.

FROM GLOBE OPINION: I nearly died from vaping, and you could tooFourth person dies in Massachusetts from vapingVaping kills 15-year-old in Texas, youngest vaping death reported yet

New England

Lawmakers hear testimony on bills to ban pot billboards, expand medical marijuana access for veterans

Several committee members signaled support for Army veteran Stephen Mandile and his bill, which was filed by his representative, Michael Soter, a Bellingham Republican.

State Police find more than 360 pounds of pot during traffic stop in Sturbridge

A New York man was arrested in Sturbridge Wednesday night after State Police stopped him for allegedly speeding and found more than 360 pounds of marijuana in his minivan.

Top Connecticut lawmakers file marijuana legalization bill on behalf of governor

A governor-backed marijuana legalization bill was introduced by Connecticut’s top lawmakers on Thursday.

New Hampshire Senate approves bill to let medical marijuana patients grow their own plants

The New Hampshire Senate approved a bill Thursday that would allow medical marijuana patients and caregivers to cultivate their own cannabis.

Boston pot shop receives final license; opening could be just weeks away

Cannabis regulators awarded a final license Thursday to a Grove Hall dispensary that could become Boston’s first recreational marijuana store.

This Week in Weed

10 predictions for the Massachusetts marijuana industry in 2020

Here’s what Globe cannabis reporter Dan Adams predicts will happen in the Massachusetts marijuana industry in 2020.

Nation

Mike Bloomberg attacks marijuana legalization in controversial resurfaced recording

Asked by an audience member about his thoughts on Colorado’s decision to end marijuana prohibition, Bloomberg said, “I think it is just a terrible, terrible idea.”

World

Move over, pot: Psychedelic companies are about to go public

For those who are still getting used to legal marijuana, the idea of publicly traded companies working with psychedelic drugs like MDMA and psilocybin, which is derived from magic mushrooms, may sound a bit out there. Yet a growing number of companies are conducting clinical trials of psychedelic treatments for everything from depression to post-traumatic stress disorder.

The essential guide to buying and consuming pot in Massachusetts

These are the most common questions marijuana budtenders get asked

Your guide to shopping at Massachusetts’ recreational marijuana stores

The hidden titans of pot

Massachusetts legalized the sale of recreational marijuana with the ambition to be different — and better. But two years since the law went into effect, troubling signs loom. This three-part series uncovers stealth moves by large investors poised to dominate this nascent industry and outmaneuver regulators.

These companies test the limits — and brag about it

No firm is allowed to own or control more than three recreational marijuana stores. But two companies — Sea Hunter and Acreage — are testing the limits.

Inside one battle that could change the marijuana industry

The race to open Mattapan Square’s first pot shop raises questions about trust and who gets to cash in.

For sale in the pot industry: political influence

Marijuana may be the hot, new retail business in town, but it largely plays by the old political rules.

More coverage

Eight takeaways from the Spotlight series on the state’s burgeoning marijuana industry

Marijuana company’s expansion plans test Mass. law

Massachusetts marijuana regulators investigating whether companies violated license limits

Beyond Massachusetts, states struggle to limit marijuana behemoths

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Special Report

Welcome to Big Marijuana’s factory floor

Inside the headquarters of Canada's Canopy Growth Corp., the world’s largest marijuana company that critics call the "Walmart of Weed." (Video by Caitlin Healy/Globe Staff)

Inside the Walmart of Weed: From rural Canada, Big Marijuana seeks to dominate global market

Latest local headlines

House passes bill to crack down on municipal marijuana agreements
The legislation answers years of complaints by applicants and advocates that cities and towns routinely gouge would-be cannabis operators.

Connecticut governor renews marijuana legalization pledge in budget proposal and speech
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont renewed his call for marijuana legalization in his State of the State address Wednesday, and he included funding to help establish a regulatory framework for cannabis in a budget proposal submitted to lawmakers.

Another Vermont House committee OKs bill to legalize marijuana sales
A push to legalize commercial marijuana sales in Vermont took another step forward Wednesday, with the House Ways and Means Committee voting to advance a bill to license and tax cannabis businesses.

Vermont committee unanimously approves bill to legalize marijuana sales
A Vermont House committee unanimously voted in favor of a bill Friday that would legalize commercial marijuana sales in the state.

New Hampshire lawmakers approve marijuana legalization bill
A New Hampshire House committee approved a bill last week that would legalize marijuana for adult use in the state.

House bill gives CCC power over host agreements
The Cannabis Control Commission would be explicitly empowered to "review, regulate and enforce" the legally-required contracts between marijuana businesses and their host communities under a new House bill teed up for debate and a vote Wednesday.

Regulators poised to vote on final license for Dorchester marijuana shop
Regulators at the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission are scheduled to vote Thursday on whether to issue a final license to Pure Oasis, a proposed Dorchester marijuana shop that could be the first to open in Boston.

Marijuana host community bill on Mass. House agenda
The Massachusetts House appears poised Wednesday to take up legislation giving state cannabis regulators the authority to review and regulate the agreements marijuana businesses are legally required to enter into with their host municipalities.

Marijuana among items on lawmakers’ to-do list in Connecticut
Expect yet another debate over whether Connecticut should join a growing number of states in legalizing and taxing recreational cannabis for adults.

Father and son found guilty of growing pot, money laundering
A father and his son have been convicted by a jury for using their Massachusetts plumbing business as a front for a cannabis growing operation.

Mass. vaping commission mulls new charge
A Massachusetts commission created in 2018 to study the use and potential regulation of vaping products got beat to the punch by the Legislature last year, but its chairs intend to use the group instead to monitor the effectiveness of last year’s vaping law and look at ways to improve education around smoking.

Lawmakers hear testimony on bills to ban pot billboards, expand medical marijuana access for veterans
Several committee members signaled support for Army veteran Stephen Mandile and his bill, which was filed by his representative, Michael Soter, a Bellingham Republican.

Central Kitchen in Cambridge to close its doors, make room for marijuana dispensary
Central Kitchen owner Gary Strack confirmed Tuesday that the restaurant will soon shutter and a recreational marijuana facility, called Western Front, plans to open in the Central Square space.

Judge: Cambridge can’t block medical dispensaries from recreational marijuana market
A state judge has temporarily blocked a key component of Cambridge's local marijuana licensing ordinance, saying a moratorium on "big cannabis" companies getting recreational permits conflicts with state law.

Vermont governor ‘at the table’ on marijuana sales talks, top lawmaker says
Vermont Governor Phil Scott is “at the table” as lawmakers work to pass a bill to tax and regulate marijuana sales in the state, a top legislative leader said in a recent interview.

Committee bill gives cannabis commission express authority over host community agreements
Lawmakers on the Massachusetts Legislature’s Cannabis Policy Committee on Friday advanced a redrafted bill that would give the Cannabis Control Commission express authority to review and regulate the mandatory agreements and payments between host communities and marijuana businesses.

State-run marijuana stores? Proponents — including Rhode Island’s governor — say it’s an idea worth exploring
Supporters say the state-run model offers significant public health and safety advantages over licensing private firms.

Bill would ban flavored tobacco, vaping products in Vermont
A bill in Vermont’s Legislature would ban the sale of all flavored tobacco and vaping products in an effort to keep young people from getting hooked.

Connecticut lawmakers to revisit legal pot in new session
Connecticut lawmakers will revisit whether to allow recreational use of marijuana among people 21 and over in the new legislative session, but it remains questionable whether 2020 will be the year a bill clears the full General Assembly.

Licensing burdens undermine vision of diverse industry, entrepreneurs tell cannabis panel
More than a year after cannabis stores started opening, frustrations with an overwhelmingly corporate reality boiled over at a state commission meeting on Thursday.

Are recreational marijuana shops preparing to open in your town? Check our maps

Data released by the Cannabis Control Commission show where marijuana operators have set up shop and where they hope to.

All 2020 presidential candidates now support marijuana legalization efforts — even the Republicans

Bill Clinton “didn’t inhale” marijuana, and it was Obama’s “mistake,” but now all 12 official Democratic candidates told the Globe they support full nationwide legalization, Canada-style.