Law360 is providing free access to its coronavirus coverage to make sure all members of the legal community have accurate information in this time of uncertainty and change. Use the form below to sign up for any of our weekly newsletters. Signing up for any of our section newsletters will opt you in to the weekly Coronavirus briefing.
Sign up for our Public Policy newsletter
You must correct or enter the following before you can sign up:
Thank You!
Law360 (May 18, 2020, 9:57 PM EDT) -- The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission said Monday that recreational cannabis stores in the state will be permitted to begin resuming curbside retail transactions after having been closed down for nearly two months due to the governor's order to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Under phase one of Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker's guidelines for reopening the state, retail businesses — including adult-use cannabis stores — may begin conducting curbside sales on May 25, with in-store sales projected to resume in the second phase. The cannabis businesses are permitted to immediately recommence all cultivation, manufacturing, testing and other non-retail activities in anticipation of opening their doors next week.
While other retailers will be allowed to conduct delivery sales during phase one, the state's adult-use cannabis market does not currently have delivery licenses. The CCC has said it plans to release its application for delivery businesses later this month.
Massachusetts was unique among states that had legalized adult-use marijuana in that recreational cannabis retailers were deemed nonessential and forced to close on March 24 and not reopen for two weeks as part of the state's emergency plan to curb the pandemic. The order to close was ultimately extended to last nearly two months, expiring on Monday.
The decision drew the ire of the state's nascent adult-use industry and its supporters in the legislature. Recreational retailers filed suit against Baker, saying the order was arbitrary and discriminatory, but they lost an emergency bid for preliminary injunction in April.
At a virtual public hearing on May 5, cannabis business owners told lawmakers that the challenges posed by federal illegality — including being frozen out of federal COVID-19 relief — had been amplified by Baker's decision to deem recreational cannabis a nonessential industry. One business owner said they had not even opened their doors or begun generating revenue before the order to close came down.
State Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz, D-Suffolk, said at the time that the state's adult-use industry "stands at the ready to meet the needs of the consumer public in a safe way, on par [with], if not under greater public health strictures, than their peers in the alcohol and restaurant industries."
"To use a term of art, I just think it's bananas that we are not allowing these retailers to open in a way that's safe, that's controlled, and that can serve the greater needs of the commonwealth in this time of emergency," Chang-Díaz said.
--Editing by Daniel King.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
