Cannabis users across the state may soon find that their favorite neighborhood dispensaries or yoga studios have a new feel.

In July, the Cannabis Control Commission approved draft rules to allow public use of marijuana in group settings like cafes or lounges. Commission members say they aim to give the rules final approval this month. 

Once they do, it’ll be up to cities and towns to decide if they want to allow social consumption establishments.

The regulations include three license types that some businesses will be eligible to apply for.

The supplemental license, open to existing cannabis retailers, cultivators and product manufacturers, would allow licensees to add on-site consumption spaces to their existing establishments. 

“I could go to a cultivation facility and sit in a consumption area and sample some of the products,” Commissioner Bruce Stebbins said. “Similar to going to a brewery, you sit in their tap room and taste what they have to offer.”

Hospitality licenses would allow non-cannabis businesses, like yoga studios, bed-and-breakfasts, and performance spaces to incorporate marijuana. 

A third type, special events licenses, would go to organizers of pop-up events or festivals.

“I see that as a great entry point for somebody with less capital build-out,” Stebbins said. It’s ideal for applicants who want to get into the industry at the ground floor, but lack resources for brick-and-mortar spaces, he said. 

Opting in or out

License seekers can only apply if their city or town opts into allowing social consumption. Cities may decide to allow some but not all license types, and could approve different parameters, like banning outdoor spaces. 

The CCC has conducted regional listening sessions for municipalities to ask questions. They have heard positive feedback from Somerville, Cambridge, Worcester, Haverhill and Holyoke, which have all expressed intentions to opt in.

On the South Coast, responses are more cautious than in other parts of the state. 

New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell has declined to take a position on social-consumption establishments until the CCC passes its regulations, according to Jonathan Darling, a public information officer for the city. 

Dartmouth’s town administrator, Cody Haddad, did not respond to The Light’s request for comment.

Fairhaven Town Administrator Keith Hickey expressed skepticism about social consumption.

“It hasn’t been discussed with the Select Board at this point, but I can tell you that staff would recommend the board not supporting or allowing open-air social consumption of marijuana,” Hickey said.  

In 2016, Massachusetts passed recreational adult-use cannabis legislation through a ballot measure, after approving medical usage in 2012. Most South Coast communities, including 55% of Fairhaven, voted in favor of allowing recreational use. 

But Hickey has some reservations about the town’s response to social consumption, especially regarding safety measures.

The CCC has proposed safeguards, like requiring businesses to make food and non-alcoholic beverages available to mitigate intoxication effects, and to have approved transportation plans for impaired customers. 

The owners of some South Coast marijuana businesses, like Bask Cannabis Dispensary in Fairhaven and Taunton, feel the regulations are strong enough to ensure safe consumption spaces.

“If the business model allows us to make revenue and everything’s safe and regulated correctly, we would definitely do it,” said Basks’s owner, Chapman Dickerson. 

Other dispensary owners in the state hope for more specific regulations, like a dosage limit or a membership-only business model.

“I would just be really nervous about first timers,” said Tim McNamara, president of the Middleborough-based dispensary, Suncrafted. “Having a strong customer base that is recurring would be ideal.”

Colorado and Michigan have adopted social consumption models similar to the CCC’s proposals, and many have found success with and without membership requirements. 

If the proposals have a strictly defined set of safety regulations, Hickey said he would be more likely to recommend approval in Fairhaven, especially for the supplemental license.

“We’ve got to do what’s in the best interest of the community as a whole, and be sensitive to those who may be uncomfortable or offended by secondhand smoke,” Hickey said.

There’s no date in place for a South Coast listening session, but the commission is working on final regulations to present to South Coast city officials “within the next month,” Stebbins said.

Only ‘social equity’ participants can apply

For the first three years of social consumption rollout, only applicants whose businesses are 51% owned by social equity participants can apply for licenses. 

The Social Equity Program is designed to give individuals most impacted by the war on drugs — like those charged for marijuana possession — a  pathway into the cannabis industry. Both companies and individuals may qualify for the social equity program.

There are 18 recreational dispensaries between New Bedford, Fall River, Dartmouth and Fairhaven. Four of these establishments, all located in Fall River, are social equity participants.

Dickerson said Bask does not qualify for social equity, but he, as an individual, does. He said he would consider applying for a supplemental license for Bask’s Fairhaven location.

The three-year period will give smaller businesses with fewer resources the first opportunity to succeed, said Kevin Gilnack, a public affairs consultant at cannabis advocacy organization Equity Opportunities Now. 

Without an exclusion period, large cannabis operators could dominate the social consumption sector of the industry, he said.

The draft regulations originally proposed a five-year exclusivity agreement, but it was shortened by two years. 

The adjustment was a disappointing step, Gilnack said, since many social-equity entrepreneurs who embraced the 2021 introduction of cannabis delivery saw a surge of business closures, Gilnack said.

The rules included a three-year exclusion period for social-equity participants. But the first two years of delivery included burdensome regulations that made it hard for businesses to turn a profit, Gilnack said.

EON will urge the CCC to learn from delivery and adopt a longer exclusivity period, Gilnack said. 

The state could see social consumption regulations approved before Christmas, possibly during the CCC’s meeting on Dec. 11.

Isabelle Oss is a graduate student in journalism at Boston University, covering state government for The Light as part of the Boston University Statehouse Program.