Massachusetts lawmakers plan to send Gov. Maura Healey a bill this week that would double the limit on how much cannabis an adult can buy or possess in Massachusetts, while also reshaping the state agency that regulates the industry.
The legislation, a House-Senate compromise finalized Monday afternoon, would shrink the Cannabis Control Commission’s membership from five people to three. All three members would be appointed by the governor, instead of the current setup where the governor, treasurer and attorney general each appoint members and the treasurer picks the chair.
Springfield Sen. Adam Gómez said the final bill “strengthens oversight and accountability by restructuring the Cannabis Control Commission, streamlining its leadership and clarifying roles and responsibilities so that each can operate more efficiently and transparently.”
“At a high level, this legislation recognizes that our cannabis industry has matured and that our regulatory framework must evolve along with it,” Gómez said.
If passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Healey, the bill will also raise the statewide limit on how much cannabis an adult can purchase or possess for recreational use, doubling it from one ounce to two.
Lawmakers in the Massachusetts House put forward a CCC overhaul bill last year, following a stretch of scandals that included the removal and subsequent reinstatement of the commission’s chair. In 2024, state Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro had urged legislators to take over what he called a “rudderless” agency.
The Senate passed its own version of the bill last fall. The deal set for votes in the House and Senate this week is the product of months of closed-door talks between the two chambers.
The Democrats who led the negotiations, Gomez and Worcester Rep. Dan Donahue, said in a joint statement that their bill “creates new opportunities for small businesses to grow, while providing those historically harmed by marijuana laws with temporary, exclusive access to those opportunities.”
The bill would remove from state law the requirement that medical marijuana businesses cultivate, process and sell their own cannabis under one license. Lawmakers said the current system is cumbersome and expensive, and that the change would knock down barriers for smaller businesses.
While state lawmakers are refining cannabis regulation, a separate effort is underway to cut off the retail market in Massachusetts.
Activists are working to put a question on November’s ballot that would repeal the legalization of recreational marijuana, but keep the medical marijuana program running and still allow adults to possess up to one ounce of cannabis.
