Page 7 - BusinessWest April 27, 2026

impacts, she noted that, in 2017, the last year before
recreational cannabis sales began, Black and Latino
residents comprised 22% of the Massachusetts popu-
lation, but 57% of its prisoners, and 75% of those
convictions were mandatory minimum sentences for
drug possession.
Relief and Accountability
Amid the ballot anxiety, for those who work in the
cannabis industry — or support it — there was some
good news out of Boston last month, when the Sen-
ate and House both overwhelmingly passed a canna-
bis reform bill, quickly signed by Gov. Maura Healey,
that “the industry is pretty happy with,” Sanders said.
It doubles purchasing limits — one ounces to two
ounces, five grams to 10 grams, etc. — on each trans-
action. “Although it’s exciting, New York is still triple
that,” she noted.
The main change in the law, however, is a reset
of the Cannabis Control Commission, dissolving the
existing CCC and rebuilding it with new guidelines. It
shrinks from five commissioners to three, all appoint-
ed by the governor, instead of a mix of officials.
The goal was to fix an agency said to be plagued by
infighting, delays, and weak oversight, and make it
more efficient and accountable.
The law also increases the license cap per compa-
ny from three to six stores, a change aimed at helping
struggling companies survive by spreading costs and
stabilizing a market grappling with falling prices and
closures — although critics worry it could favor large
corporations over small, local operators.
“That’s very exciting,” Sanders said, calling the
move a means of survival in a world of too much cul-
tivation and too many stores, where businesses are
cannibalizing each other. “Holyoke, for instance, has
10 or 11 dispensaries. The only way you can keep
revenue up is to have more stores. I’m only going to
get so much revenue out of each store. So the way
to grow the business is to add more stores to the
business.
“I hear all the time, ‘let the free market figure it
out,’ but this is not the free market, when you limit
retail and price compression happens,” she added.
“In January 2025, according to the CCC, the price
per gram was over $5. It’s dropped to $4. You signed
a lease for X amount of months, and you need X
amount of people in the store, so you can see how
the math becomes problematic if you’ve got price
compression.”
The new law also removes the rule that medi-
cal cannabis operators must be vertically integrated
(growing, processing, and selling everything them-
selves); clarifies classifications around seeds, hemp,
and other gray areas; creates new oversight, trans-
parency, and safety measures (from reporting of ille-
gal activity to more robust public health reporting to
workplace safety studies); and prepares the industry
for the coming of cannabis cafés and broader retail
models.
“It’s really exciting,” Sanders said. “I’m hopeful
about the new structure, which dissolves the old
commission and creates a new one that reports to
the governor. We’ll see what happens, but hopefully
we’ll see that progress has been made. There have
been a lot of positives, and we hope we can keep the
momentum going.” BW
“The only way you
can keep revenue
up is to have more
stores. I’m only
going to get so
much revenue out
of each store. So
the way to grow
the business is to
add more stores
to the business.”
Business W est << FEATURE >>
APRIL 27, 2026
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